Fresh Start
by ashlynnb14
Summary: <html><head></head>Karma Lowman is looking for a chance at a new life in Charming after her brother, Happy, picks her up from prison. Will she be able to keep on the straight and narrow or will the Sons and their lifestyle drag her back in. Can she resist when it's all she's ever known? After all, it's in her blood. Rated M for language and future content</html>
1. Chapter 1

"Lowman, wake up and pack." I rolled over with a groan and glared at the guard standing in the doorway of my cell. I was so sick of seeing her every damn morning. I put my head back down on my pillow and closed my eyes. I heard her boot steps walk across the concrete floor towards my bunk. "Lowman, pack your shit or you're staying here over the weekend." She yelled as she hit the bottom of my metal bunk with her Maglite.

"What?" I said with a yawn. I wasn't supposed to get out for another six months, so I was in no mood to move units just to fancy their wishes. I propped up on my elbows and looked at the blonde bitch I had grown to hate over the last year and a half. I could tell I was pissing her off because the vein at her temple started pulsing and her face started getting red.

"Counselor said you're out today. Something about your attorney and the D.A. Look, I don't really give a shit but we're overcrowded so you need to get up and get your shit out of this cell." She spat at me as she turned on her heel, slamming the metal door as she exited the cell.

"Fuck, Karma why you gotta piss her off this early? I hate when that bitch slams the door." Brightly, my cellie bunked below me, said as I hopped down out of bed. I threw my pillow at her to shut her up. She'd been without one since they found meds stashed in it during the last shakedown. "Thanks." She grunted as she rolled over to face the wall as I turned the light on and started packing.

I didn't have too much to take after leaving Brightly my soups, paper and stuff I had ordered off of commissary. I figured she would probably just trade it for pills or pot, but I was leaving so it wasn't my problem anymore.

I pulled on my red pants and top like I had every morning since I got thrown in segregation six months ago and banged on the cell door. Harris, the guard, rolled her eyes as she walked over and opened the flap in the door. I turned around, putting my hands behind my back and through the opening for her to cuff me. I used to fight it all the time, but seeing as I was getting out, I decided I would comply for once.

After the cuffs were on and I followed her instructions for exiting the cell, two male guards in full Kevlar and gear met me at the door to escort me out to discharge. I smiled to myself at how over the top they were with my escort. Yeah, I had beaten the shit out of some other inmates, but I had never tried to hurt a guard, especially a male guard.

So there the three of us were, standing in front of the discharge desk. I could see the officer behind the desk raise his eyebrows at my one twenty five pound self being escorted like that. I smiled brightly as I flipped my hair out of my face. The guard on the left tightened his grip on my arm and cuffed wrist.

"Hey, chill. My hair was tickling my face, damn. You must be a rookie. You're seriously scared of me aren't you?" I sweetly asked as I fluttered my eyelashes at him. He stiffened, causing me to laugh.

"Lowman, shut-up or you're going back to your cell." The guard on my right said as he sat my bag down beside him. I recognized his voice right away. He and I had gone round and round one day when I came back from court. I had been pissed about the judge and he decided it was a good idea to cop an attitude with me during escort. I ran my mouth and started kicking chairs around, resulting in getting OC to the face a couple times.

"Aw, Officer Morgan, you're going to miss me aren't you?" I said cheesing over at him. He shook his head but didn't respond. I caught the discharge officer smirking, but decided not to bother him, considering he was working on getting me out of there.

"You can take her restraints off. Here, this your personal property. You can change in there." The discharge officer said pointing at the strip-out room. I nodded and took the bag once my leg shackles and cuffs were off. I stuck out my hand to Officer Morgan and he took it hesitantly.

"Thanks for all your hard work." I said as I shook his hand before going into the room and changing. He nodded and left with his companion.

I threw the red uniform off and dumped my property bag on the table. I smiled as I replaced the standard sports bra with my black and red lace one and the granny panties with my lacy thong. I already felt like myself again. I pulled on my jeans and tank top before putting on my boots, grabbing my phone and backpack and walking out of the room.

"Everything there?" The discharge officer asked looking up at me as I tossed the red uniform in the laundry cart.

"Yep. Phone, clothes, bag, freedom, it's all here." I said with a smile as I leaned on the counter. I caught him looking at me from head to toe as he handed me the discharge papers to sign. I winked at him as I handed the clipboard back.

"Can I use the phone? I'm going to need a ride, unless you wanted to take me home." I said smoothly. He blushed a little and shook his head no.

"Your attorney said your brother was picking you up out at the gate." He explained while avoiding eye contact. I laughed and waited patiently as he took my ID band off my wrist and explained the process for claiming my account balance. I was only half listening until he asked me to grab my stuff and wait by the sliding door.

I took a deep breath as I heard the familiar gate buzzer and saw the door start sliding open. I walked through the gate and stopped at the second one that led to the walkway leading to the main gate. As the gate behind me slid closed, I felt excitement wash over me. The gate in front of me opened and I stepped over the threshold. I was finally out of the building, now I just had to make it out of the fence without someone stopping me.

I squinted at the sun bearing down on me as I walked down the sidewalk. I saw a couple of motorcycles parked at the gate and I started walking faster. As I got closer I heard whistling and catcalls, I laughed and stopped at the final gate holding me in.

As soon as the gate was open just enough for me to squeeze out, I did. I dropped my bag on the ground and threw my arms around my brother's neck as he picked me up in a tight hug.

"Karma! It's about damn time. I've missed your face." Happy said looking at me before kissing me on the forehead. I hugged him tighter for the fear that the guards would find out the fucked up and drag me back in the prison. Happy and I were never ones to show affection, but this was a special occasion.

I was glad to see that my brother was still in one piece and even looked happy. I hadn't been given any visitations since I landed myself in segregation, so for the past six months, my only contact with the outside world was through letters and the weekly phone call.

Happy sat me down and wrapped his arm around me. I looked at the men with him, realizing I hadn't met them before I got locked up. I noticed both of their patches said Redwood Original. So, they were obviously part of the mother club of the Sons of Anarchy, otherwise known as Happy's other family.

"Karma, this is Bobby." Happy said, pointing at the bigger guy with white stitching on his cut sitting on the Harley Fat Boy. I smiled over at him as he waved and tipped his helmet. "And this is Juice." Hap said nodding towards the younger, tan guy with a mohawk and head tats sitting on a Harley Dyna. I grinned over at him as he blushed a little and returned my smile.

"Okay, so intro's are over. Let's get out of here." Happy said as he pulled my old helmet out of his saddlebag. I grabbed it quickly and turned it over in my hands. It looked newer than I remembered it but the familiar endless knot was there in bright red. I smiled so big that it actually hurt my cheeks as I put it on.

"Where exactly are we going?" I called to Happy over his Dyna's roar. He turned back towards me as he walked the bike forward.

"Charming. It's home now." He called out before peeling out onto the highway. I smiled as I rested my head on his back. So this was going to be my new start. I looked back once, as Central California Women's Facility got smaller and smaller as we headed north to Charming and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the error! Chapter 2 is up and legible now :) hope everyone enjoys! Thanks for the heads up lyndaflpn **

It only took about two hours until we passed the "Welcome to Charming" sign. Happy and the welcoming party slowed down a little as they rolled into town. It was a lot smaller than what I was used to back in Tacoma, but maybe that was a good thing. Happy had been spending a lot of time here, even before I got locked up, so it couldn't be that bad.

We rolled into an auto garage with a big Teller-Morrow sign over the auto bays. I was thrown off a little until I saw the clubhouse and the all to familiar reaper and emblems that were Sons of Anarchy everywhere that wasn't the actual garage. Happy turned off his bike and waited for me to get off. Apparently I took to long.

"Karma, either get off the bike or I'm going to throw you off. I have to pee." Happy growled at me. I shoved his back a little as I hopped off. He shook his head at me as he walked into the clubhouse. I took off my helmet and shook my hair out. I didn't have a headband with me when I got arrested, so I'm sure the helmet made my hair look fantastic.

"So you must be Happy's sister." A woman said walking over to me from the garage. I looked up from fiddling with my helmet strap and saw a tall woman with dark hair and highlights. She looked about my mom's age but was obviously in better health, despite the noticeable scar running between her breasts. I nodded as I sat the helmet on Happy's seat.

"Yeah. I'm Karma." I said extending my hand to her. She looked down her nose at me but took my hand and shook it once.

"You look more like trouble. Gemma Teller-Morrow." She said dropping my hand and looking me over. I had been used to getting long looks from people around Tacoma, but I figured an old lady wouldn't be so thrown off. I've got a half sleeve of black and white candy skulls, leopard print on my collarbone, and a happy face on my right shoulder, but compared to how many tattoos I had that weren't visible to her right now, I wasn't sure why she was staring at me. My hair was back to its natural mahogany and none of my piercings were in, and yet she kept staring at me.

"Sorry, do I have a dead bug on my face from the ride or something?" I said, reaching up and lightly brushing my cheek off. Gemma smiled and shook her head.

"No honey, you've just got a look in your eye." She said with a little laugh as she pulled her sunglasses over her eyes. "I'm sure I'll see you around. I've got errands to run."

With that, Gemma walked to a black suv, got in and drove off. I scoffed and looked towards the clubhouse, getting impatient waiting for Happy.

"Don't worry. She's like that with everybody." Bobby said with a grin. "Happy probably got distracted. You are welcome to come in if you'd like." He said, motioning to the clubhouse door. I flashed a smile as I walked ahead of him, knowing all too well he and Juice were probably staring at my ass.

I opened the door and found that it was similar to Happy's old charter up in Tacoma. It was nicer though. The bar was bigger and the double doors to "church" were covered in leather. Sure enough, Happy was caught up in a game of pool with a crow eater. I walked over and stared at him. He caught my stare after he sunk the 9 ball into the pocket under my right hand.

"Sorry," he said giving me a one armed hug before lining up his next shot.

"It's fine I just really want to take a shower and change. When are we going to your house?" I asked watching him knock the cue ball into a side pocket.

"Fuck." He said glaring at the table. "Uh, my place is being fumigated, so I'm staying here for a few days. Your clothes are mostly in storage, but I brought some here for ya. Here." He said handing me a key with a rabbit's foot ornament. "Second door on the left."

I caught the crow eater shooting daggers at me and I smiled. Poor girl thought she was being blown off. Had she not looked at me like that, I would have found it funny.

"Awww, baby, are you not coming with me?" I said grabbing Happy's ass. He brushed my hand away and laughed as he saw the blonde's glare.

"Karma, be nice." He said as he walked over and smacked the crow eater's ass. I smirked and winked at her.

"You and I both know karma's a bitch, big brother." I said as I blew him a kiss and walked back to his dorm room. I opened the door and knew right away it was his. Everything looked pristine and untouched. I saw a box in the corner labeled "KARMA" and opened it up. I rifled through it for a few minutes before settling on a pair of black jeans and a t-shirt with the back cut out to look like a skull.

I stood in the shower, for what seemed like forever, just enjoying the privacy and constant stream of hot water. Once it got to the point that I couldn't breathe through the steam in the room, I cut off the water and climbed out. I knew I was dripping water everywhere, but I stood in front of the foggy mirror completely naked for a minute. I hadn't used a real mirror in a long time. I took a deep breath and slowly wiped the condensation away with my hand.

My eyes were the same bright green and my lips were still my favorite feature with their natural plumpness, but I noticed I looked tired. My skin wasn't nearly as olive as it used to be and my cheeks were a little less full. I sighed and looked down at the rest of my body.

My ribs were a little more prominent than they were before I went in, causing my lotus flowers tattoo to look a little boney, but other than that I looked pretty much the same. I smiled noticing that due to my thinning out from jail food, my boobs looked bigger than they used to. I used to be borderline C, but now they looked full C at least. I wrapped my hair in a turban like fashion and got dressed.

I kneeled back over the box and dug around until I found my skull-stitched headband. Sliding it into place, I walked back towards the bar. Happy was sitting there with the same crow eater on his lap as I hopped up into a seat right next to them. A dark, curly haired Son was seated on my other side.

"Where the hell did you come from, baby?" He asked openly staring at me. I took the beer Happy offered me and turned to the dark haired guy. He was a little older than Happy by my guess, but his eyes were that of a teenager.

"Central California Women's Facility." I said with a smile before taking a sip of beer. The maltiness was wonderfully dancing on my tongue. I noticed the man's smile grow larger.

"Baby, you sound like my kind of woman. What were ya in for?" He asked as he tried to keep his drool in his mouth. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"ADW" I said simply. Happy looked over when I answered. The other guy's smile grew impossibly large.

"Where have you been all my life? You can assault me any time. I'll let you do whatever you want so long as we fuck after." He said leaning forward and whispering the last part. I laughed and shook my head as Happy reached behind my back and slugged the guy in the arm fairly hard.

"That's my little sister, fucker." Happy said with a growl. The guy sat up straight and his smile faltered a little.

"Well, I'm sorry. How was I supposed to know? She's nowhere close to ugly like you." He sighed and rested his elbow on the bar. "I'm Tig. If you want we can still do nasty things to each other, just don't tell your psycho brother." I laughed genuinely and winked at Tig.

"I'm pretty sure he heard you, but I'll tell you what. If I develop daddy issues all of a sudden and need someone to take it out on, you'll be the first on I call." Tig smiled and nodded his head as he stuck out his hand. I took it and shook it.

"It's a deal then. Sorry, Hap. It was her idea." He said looking over at Happy. Happy laughed, knowing damn well I had always been a daddy's girl before he had died. I was probably the furthest woman in the bar from having daddy issues.

Suddenly the bar was filled with whoops and hollers as three more men walked into the clubhouse. I recognized Clay, SAMCRO's president, from a rally up in Tacoma a couple years ago. The man to his right had shaggy dark hair and old knife scars on his face that were ever evident as he reached right over me to grab a bottle of whiskey. Finally there was a younger guy with short blonde hair and goatee. I looked over the guy who was grabbing the whiskey and found myself getting lost in the blonde's heavenly blue eyes. Luckily Happy pulled him into a brotherly hug before he caught me staring.

If I didn't know better, he started staring himself as I quickly finished off my beer. I smiled a little as I got down off the chair. Happy turned to me and raised his eyebrows.

"Just going to lay down for a little bit. I'm used to sleeping during the day." I said with a smile.

"Well, get some sleep because you're welcome home party is tonight." He said as I kissed him on the cheek. I nodded and turned, catching a glimpse of the blonde checking me out.

If there was a party and he was going to be there, there was no way I was going to miss it.


	3. Chapter 3

I tried lying down on my side, my back, my stomach, and then my other side to no avail. I ended up staring at the ceiling fan blades as they spun, thinking about everything I wanted to do now that I was out. I had made a different list almost every week as I sat in my cell with nothing else to do. Now that I was free, I found myself in a new city, if you called it that, with no idea of what to do next.

All I knew for sure was I wasn't going back to prison, jail, or anywhere like that. I'm the type of person that needs the ability to make my own decisions. Whether those decisions fuck me over or not, well that's just part of living.

Thinking of plans and the past started stressing me out, so I let my mind wander to the blonde that I'd seen out at the bar. I had to admit, he wasn't really my type. I normally preferred dark hair and eyes, but something about his swagger and smile drew me in. I could almost imagine what it might feel like to have that mouth on mine, among other places. I bit my bottom lip and smiled.

A loud knock on the door brought me out of the gutter. I sat up and called for them to open the door. Happy walked in, closing the door behind him.

"How you doing?" He asked, leaning up against the dresser. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Just fine. Couldn't really go to sleep, but I'm good." I said in an upbeat tempo, hoping he wouldn't notice that I wasn't being completely honest. He just nodded, keeping his normal blank expression. I decided to change the subject, carefully.

"So, who was that with Clay earlier?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could. Happy didn't seem to suspect anything yet.

"Scottish guy gettin' the whiskey was Chibs and the blonde guy was Jax, he's VP." Happy said flatly. I inclined my head with acknowledgement. I tried out another question, doing my best to keep him from suspecting ulterior motives.

"They gonna bring their old ladies to the party tonight?" I asked as I looked down at my nails, noticing how shitty they looked. I brought one up and chewed on a hangnail as he answered.

"Nah, they don't have old ladies. Why, Karma?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest. I shrugged and smiled as I kept biting on my nail.

"Just thought it'd be cool to meet some of the old ladies. Croweaters are too hostile to really chill with. They're too concerned about becoming an old lady to make friends." I lied blatantly. Happy eyed me like only he could. I'd seen him give others a similar look and their fear become obvious immediately. I just pursed my lips at him and narrowed my eyes.

"You hate other women." He said simply, but he had an accusatory undertone. I smiled.

"I've spent the last year and a half with only women." I said matter of factually. Happy nodded his head.

"Exactly." I rolled my eyes. "Be smart," he said, closing the conversation before reopening the door. "Party starts in an hour if you wanted to get a head start." He flashed a quick smile before walking out, leaving the door wide open as to invite me with him.

As much as I loved my brother, he knew me too well. Once Mom got sick, he was the one that really watched after me as far as having a place to stay and learning how to take care of myself. His advice of, "be smart" stung a little. Those were the last words our mom said to me before I got arrested. She'd died not to long after. I'd talked to her on the phone a couple times before she passed, but I got the feeling she never got over the disappointment, even though she said she had.

I shook my head to clear my mind, too much shit for my first day. It was time to celebrate and party, not think and regret. I hopped off the bed and headed back to the bar. Happy nodded when he saw me, ordering a Sam Adam's for me and handing it over.

"Thank you." I said, happily taking the bottle and tilting it up. I took the chance to look around the room some more. There were quite a few scantily dressed girls roaming around, some glanced over at me as they talked to each other. I rolled my eyes and pulled up a seat by Happy. This was going to take a couple more beers before I tried putting up with their shit.

"Hey baby, glad to see you're still around." Tig sang as he took the seat next to me. I smiled and shook my head.

"Hon, when are you going to learn? Leather and bad facial hair don't scare me off that easy." I boasted with a wink. Tig's hand flew up to his beard with a bruised look in his eye.

"What's wrong with my beard?" He whined, smoothing it down. I laughed and shook my head.

"Did I say you were the one with bad facial hair? Maybe I was talking about Happy." Tig narrowed his eyes as a smile crept across his face.

"I see what you did there. You're trying to play off your attraction by teasing me. Cute. I'd like to tease your nice," I put my hand over his mouth and shook my head no.

"This right here," I said leaning in and whispering loudly. "This is the closest you're ever going to get to touching me." I pulled my hand back and smiled as he pouted. "Here, you look like you could use this." I said, sliding a shot of tequila down to him. He knocked it back and nodded as he stood to leave.

"I won't hold you to that, sweetie." He winked and walked over to a couple girls on the couch. They looked all too happy to gain his attention. I couldn't help but laugh.

A few drinks later, I was starting to feel more social and left my bar chair with a beer in hand. Tig blew me a kiss as I walked by, which earned him a bird finger. I noticed Clay sitting over by the pool table, so I made my way over. He was the only Son I really knew before today, so I figured he was a good place to start with socializing.

"Clay, how've you been?" I said propping my self up against the wall. He looked over at my lazily. Then his eyes widened.

"Karma? Damn, woman. I haven't seen you since you were barely legal. Hap said you were locked up." He said in a quizzical tone as he stood up and hugged me. I hugged him back and nodded as he pulled back.

"Yeah, Happy actually just came and got me this morning. I thought you would have known since Bobby and uh, Juice came with him." I said, struggling to remember the guy with the Mohawk's name. Clay raised his brow.

"Right, right I remember him mentioning running down to Central Cali. Lot of shit going on, sorry about that. I would have come along but we were in Oakland most the day." He said with a big smile. I waved his comment away with my hand.

"Shit, it's not like I'm the first person to ever get out of the joint. It's nice to see you though! You still riding the super glide?" He nodded, seemingly surprised that I remembered his bike.

"Yeah, so long as I can." He said as his gaze grew distant. I knew he was getting older and knew that once you can't ride, you just can't be a Son anymore. I smiled weakly, sensing it was a good time to exit.

"Well I'll probably be sticking around Charming for a while, so I'm sure I'll see you around." I said as I gave him a quick one-armed hug. He nodded and gave me a pathetic attempt at a smile.

As I walked back to the bar for more social lubrication, in walked the blonde prince himself. I swallowed hard as I took in his cocky gait and his kutte that hung on his shoulders in a way that screamed bad-boy. I took a shot out of Happy's hand and threw it back. The liquid burned the back of my throat, reminding me how much I despised white rum. I gave him the glass back as I took another beer from the girl passing out drinks behind the bar. Happy glared at me as I smiled back at him.

"Come on, Hap. Don't scare the new girl away." The blonde, Jax, said walking up and grabbing Happy by the shoulder. Happy took another shot from the bartender and knocked it back as he eyed me.

"Doesn't work. I've been trying for years." He said narrowing his eyes at me. I laughed, knowing he was just pestering me and looked back at Jax. The shot of rum had done the trick. I extended my hand out to Jax.

"Karma, Happy's younger and prettier sister. You must be Jax." I said with a smile that I tried to land somewhere between interested in bored. Jax looked from Happy to me and smiled as he took my hand and kissed it like some old Western outlaw.

"That's not the worst thing I've been called today, darlin." He said in a low, flirtatious way. Happy looked over at me and narrowed his eyes at my smirk.

"Well, Jax, I guess I'll see you around. Tig was just about to tell me a good story." I lied. I knew Jax's type. He always got the women and didn't have to do much beyond smile and look their way. I wanted him to throw me on his bed right then and there, to be completely honest. The chase was half the fun though. I felt his eyes on me the whole time I walked over to Tig.

I chatted and laughed with Tig, shamelessly using him as part of the game. About fifteen minutes in to his really freaky story about his cousin, I found a good point where he was wrapped up in a blonde's question about the story and walked outside. I knew guy like Tig too. In a few minutes he wouldn't even notice I had been there in the first place.

I sat down at a picnic table and grabbed a cigarette out of my pack Happy had given me. I was looking for a lighter when I heard someone walk up. Reflexively, I tensed.

"Need a light, darlin'?" Jax asked as he sat down next to me and offered me his glowing ember on his own cigarette. I lit mine and handed his back with a smile.

"Thanks, hon." I noticed him looking at the candy skulls on my arm.

"No problem. Sorry I snuck up on you. Happy was telling me you just left Central." I nodded and took a drag. "You having a good time?" He asked. His genuine tone surprised me.

"Yeah, I guess. Not really used to partying anymore. Hap said it was a welcome home party, but seeing as how no one knows I'm here, I think it's just a party he wanted to make me come to." I said as I flicked an ember onto the ground. Jax laughed a little as he nodded.

"At least he tried." He said before taking a long drag from his own cigarette. "So, you going back to Tacoma after this?"

"No, probably not. I'll probably stick around here for a bit; see how it goes." I said looking out towards the bikes. "I get bored pretty easily, which gets me in trouble, so hopefully I find something to do out here." I caught Jax smile out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't even meant that as a come on, but whatever works.

**Bit of a cliffhanger. Work may slow my updates down for a couple days but I may find time if I get a couple reviews :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**CAUTION: MATURE CONTENT **

I put out my cigarette on the table and turned to Jax. He threw his on the ground and looked back at me. I smiled slowly and stood up.

"I'll catch you later, Jax." I said turning to leave. I heard Jax laugh, which made me pause and look back at him. "What?"

"Darlin' I don't think you want to leave." Jax said with a grin. I put my hand on my hip and laughed back.

"What makes you so sure?" I asked walking over to him. He shrugged and grabbed my wrist, gently pulling me closer. Just as I was about to pull my wrist back, he leaned forward and kissed me. I was taken off guard, but happily so. I leaned into him, bracing myself on his thighs. I felt his mouth curve up into a smile as I slipped my tongue over his.

Jax pulled back first. He was smiling with that cocky smile that made me want to force him to work for it, but my body didn't agree. I could feel an urge down deep.

"Still want to go wherever you were headed?" Jax asked as he ran his hand from my arm to my hip. I smirked back at him.

"I might have a few minutes." I said teasingly. He laughed and shook his head as he stood up. I struggled to keep my composure.

"Darlin, you're gonna want more than a few minutes. Second door on the right." He kissed me on the cheek and headed back inside. I enjoyed the back and forth we had and his bright eyes and smile didn't hurt either.

I waited a few minutes and headed back into the clubhouse. Happy was fully occupied with the croweater from the pool game earlier, so I didn't have to worry about his nagging. I walked down the dorm hall casually and opened the door Jax had directed me to.

Jax was leaning against a dresser holding two beers. He offered me one as I shut and locked the door behind me. I walked across the room and took both beers from him. He grinned as I sat them both on the dresser and turned back to him.

"I'm drunk enough all ready." I said as I leaned in and bit him softly on the neck.

"Oh, am I that ugly? You gotta be drunk to fuck me?" He chuckled as he slid his hands around from my hips to my ass. I kissed him forcefully on the mouth and nodded. He pushed me back and laughed.

"You're gonna pay for that." He said as he picked me up and slammed my back against the door as his mouth found the way to my neck. I arched my back in pleasure and let out a moan as I felt my body long for more of him.

Jax put me down and groped my breast roughly. I grinned and shoved his kutte to the floor before pulling his shirt over his head. As soon as his head was free of the shirt, he kissed me hard on the mouth. He yanked my shirt off and made quick work of my bra.

I pulled him over to the bed and shoved him down onto it, straddling him. His mouth clamped over my nipple as I undid his belt and jeans zipper. I fought to catch my breath as his nipped and licked first one nipple and then the other. As I ran my hand down his chest and over his briefs, he grabbed my hips and twisted over quickly. He smiled down at me as he kneeled between my legs.

I raised my hips up as he grabbed the top of my jeans and thong. He pulled them off without having to bother with the zipper, a perk of losing weight in prison I guess. He threw my pants onto the floor as his other hand found my clit. He rubbed his thumb over it vigorously as he alternated between kissing and biting my inner thigh. I found myself panting as he ran his tongue over my sensitive skin between my leg and my vagina.

"Stop. I'm going to come." I said with a loud moan. Jax bit down lightly and sucked, replacing his thumb with his tongue. I tried to shift, but I was frozen in ecstasy as I felt an orgasmic shock run through me. Jax pulled himself up over me and pinned my shoulders down as he entered me.

"Oh, god." I moaned breathing heavily. I felt every inch of him as he slammed into me over and over. I tightened around him, causing him to smile and bite his lower lip. I raked my nails down his back and rotated my hips. He leaned down and kissed me deeply as we let go. I found myself yelling his name as he moaned against my mouth and I felt my legs spasm.

I rolled off and out of me and lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, working to slow his breathing. I got up and stood on my jello like legs, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.

When I came back into the bedroom, he was still lying there staring at the ceiling. I threw a towel at him and started getting dressed. He raised his eyebrows and me and lit a cigarette.

"Where are you running off to, darlin?" He said exhaling a long stream of smoke like a steaming dragon. I pulled my shirt over my head and straightened my headband before I looked over at him.

"Out to the party." I said with a shrug. Jax got up and pulled his pants back on. He nodded and smiled.

"I guess we don't really want Happy wondering where we ran off to. I thought you might want another round." Jax said as he pulled his shirt on.

"Well, I was going to get a beer or a shot and we could pick up where we left off later." I said with a sigh. "Then you had to mention my brother before you were fully dressed, so that kind of killed that. So, like I said before, I'll see you around." Jax shook his head and ran his hand through his hair as he followed me out into the hall.

Happy and the blonde croweater were coming out of his room at the same moment. Happy looked from me to Jax and then back to me. He shook his head in silence as he followed the croweater back to the bar.

"Well, that could have been worse." Jax said with a smirk. I laughed and shook my head, following my brother out to the bar.

**Happy Thursday :) I've gotten pretty good response to this story so far, hope you all continue to enjoy. **


	5. Chapter 5

I took a seat next to Happy and got a bottle of water from the bartender. We both sat in silence as I drank my water and he a beer. He looked over at me at one point, but didn't say anything. I finally looked over at him.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said casually as he looked over at me lazily. He took a swig of his beer and nodded.

"That's good." He said flatly. We went back to silence until I stood up to leave. "Where ya headed?" He asked not looking at me.

"Bed. Alone." I said before pausing. Happy laughed and stood up.

"Figured you might want to stay in an empty room. One of the croweaters cleaned it and changed the sheets earlier, so here." He handed me another key sans rabbit's foot. "I already put your shit in there. Last door on the left." I nodded and took the key. I heard him follow me down the hall.

"What now?" I asked turning around with a laugh. Happy didn't say anything as he pulled me to him in a tight hug. I smiled and hugged him back. He let me go and turned to leave. I felt a pang in my chest. "Hey, Hap." He stopped and looked back at me. "I love you." Happy grinned and nodded.

"Love you, Karma. Goodnight." He said walking back towards the clubhouse. I turned the key and walked into the little bedroom. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up with a pounding headache in last night's outfit. I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow in a futile attempt to go back to sleep. After a few minutes, I climbed out of bed with a groan. I took a towel that was sitting on the lounge chair and headed into the bathroom. I stood under the showerhead and looked up as the water crashed down into my face. I washed my hair and myself slowly as I enjoyed the solitude of the shower again. It was the little things that made me thankful to be out.

I got dressed and pulled my hair up into a high, hangover ponytail before headed out, locking the door behind me. I thought about heading out to the bar for some hair of the dog, but decided to visit Happy instead. I stood at the door for a minute, trying to decide whether to knock or yell for him to open the door. I tried the knob. It turned, surprisingly. I walked in and saw Happy passed out and spread eagle on the bed.

I silently thanked the gods that he had jeans on. I sat down on the bed, careful to stay on top of the quilt in hopes that it didn't have any bodily fluids on it.

"Morning." I said in a regular speaking tone. Happy jumped up and grabbed for the gun under his pillow. I laughed.

"Jesus, Karma. You ever heard of knocking?" He growled as he left the gun in place under his pillow and sat up slowly.

"I have, but it's really not as fun as scaring the shit out of you. You got any aspirin?" I said with a smile. He shot me an icy look but pointed to the bathroom. I followed his direction and found a bottle of aspirin in the medicine cabinet, right next to a bag of pot. I took a couple aspirin and swallowed them down.

"Morning. No offense, but can you get out so I can take a shower and shit?" Happy said as he rubbed the heel of his hands on his eyes. I walked over and kissed the top of his bald head before I walked out to the clubhouse.

Jax was sitting at the bar with a freshly poured cup of coffee. I walked up to him and smiled sweetly.

"How do you take it?" I asked, nodding towards the coffee. He looked at me quizzically.

"Uh, black with sugar. Why?" He said with a yawn. I snarled my nose and walked behind the bar to pour myself a cup. I felt Jax's eyes on me. I was wearing jeans and an old Tool t-shirt, really nothing to stare at. I sat down at the bar, leaving a set between us.

"What?" I said looking at him after I took a couple sips of coffee. He raised his brow and smiled.

"You know, morning sex is the best thing for a hangover." He said as he leaned over towards me. I made a point to pick up my cup and take another drink.

"Uh huh. I'll make sure to find someone next time. Thanks for the tip." I said standing up and walking out to the patio area. I took a seat on the picnic bench and looked out over the garage lot.

Sex with Jax was like sliding down a rainbow into a pot of gold, but there was no way I was ready to let him know I thought that. I got so lost in the sound of tools clanking and air compressors whirling, I didn't even notice Happy sit down next to me. He had his own cup of coffee, fixed just like mine with just enough cream to turn it brown, no sugar.

"You've got Jax all butt-hurt over something. Gave me a fuck off look when I asked where you were." Happy said as he tried to hide his smirk with a drink of coffee. I shrugged and looked over at the garage again.

"His ego can take some deflating." I said with a smirk of my own.

"We need someone to work on bikes. If you were thinking of getting a job." Hap said, avoiding my eye contact. Before our dad had died, he passed the love of all things motorcycle down to his kids. It stuck, even with Mom trying to push me towards nursing or teaching. I'd worked in a couple shops in Tacoma before getting arrested.

I hated being the only girl at shops. I brushed off the sexual comments and ogling, but I couldn't stand to have my judgment and skills questioned just because I had a vagina. Happy knew this. I didn't really have many options knocking at my door with a rap sheet like mine, and I needed a job so I could get my own place.

"Fine. How do I apply?" I asked as I stood up and grabbed my cup. Happy turned his head slowly and squinted at the sun shining around me.

"No application. Just tell Gemma you're the new mechanic and fill out the hiring legal form nonsense." Happy said, looking away quickly to avoid the sunlight. I nodded and headed back in the clubhouse. I had all intentions of starting work, but after a nap. My headache was starting to turn into a migraine. I walked past Jax who was still sitting and the bar, and headed back to my current room.

"It's not like you were that phenomenal anyways." Jax murmured as I walked by. I laughed and kept walking.

"If that was the case, you wouldn't keep bringing it up and waiting for me at the bar with any empty cup of coffee." I said loudly. Juice met me in the hallway and raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Morning, Juice." I said as I turned the key in the lock and went back bed. I heard him laugh a little, followed closely by the sound of a dorm room slamming down the hall before I fell back to sleep.

**Thank you for the review, you must have been reading my mind about Jax. Hope everyone enjoys this less steamy chapter. What do you all think about Karma and Happy? I love their sibling bond, especially since it gives him a caring side.**


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up around noon. The roaring of motorcycles filled the air as they rode out of Teller Morrow. I freshened up in the bathroom and headed out to the garage office to find Gemma. She was sitting at the desk with her head hung. I paused, trying to decide whether I should go in or wait.

"Gemma, everything okay?" I said walking slowly through the door. She looked up at me and brushed the back of her hands over her eyes quickly. I looked down at the peeling linoleum to avoid the awkwardness of the moment.

"I'm fine. Stupid allergies. You here to do that paperwork?" She asked as she opened a desk drawer and started flipping through folders.

"Yeah, Happy said y'all needed another mechanic. I've worked on cars and bikes for a few years now. I've got certification if you need it. It's probably in storage." I said taking the clipboard she handed me and going over to the leather couch by the door. Gemma peered at me over her glasses.

"He said you knew your way around a garage, I didn't realize you went to school for it." I shrugged as I turned to the next form. "How'd you manage that?"

I stopped writing and looked up at her, keeping any emotion off of my face. It bothered me that she was being so intrusive, but from what I heard, that's just Gemma. I looked back down at the papers and started signing my name at the bottom.

"You take some of those classes down at Central for it?" She asked, still prodding. I sighed and handed her the clipboard.

"Here, I'm done." She took the clipboard and glanced at the forms. "I didn't take classes when I was locked up. I did a program at a college up in Tacoma." I left out the fact that Happy had paid for most of it and made sure I went everyday. Gemma smiled at me and pointed towards the garage.

"There's some coveralls in the cabinet over there. They should fit, but I can order you some next week. You can start Monday. We've got it covered through then." Gemma turned back to her paperwork. I took the cue and walked out of the office. All but two of the bikes were gone from the lot, so I decided to head out and explore Charming.

A block or so down the road was a candy shop and a real estate office. I spotted a diner and headed in as my stomach started to growl. The waitress and a few guests turned and looked at me curiously. I stuffed my hands in my back pockets as I waited for the hostess to take me to a table.

"Hey, sweetheart, you want a table or a booth?" A short little brunette asked as she skipped up to me. I looked around at the seating options and shrugged.

"Booth is fine." She smiled and grabbed a menu as she led me over to a booth. I slid into the booth and looked over the menu for a few minutes before a waitress came by.

"What can I get you?" I ordered a sandwich and a cola. She nodded and walked towards the kitchen. She and the cook looked over at me in a pathetic attempt to be sneaky. The cook was a guy that looked like he was probably still in high school and kept glancing over at me and grinning. The waitress nodded her head a couple times before grabbing my drink and bouncing back over to me.

"Here ya go sweetie." She said sitting the drink and straw down. She looked around at the other tables and sat down across from me. "So, you must be new. I haven't seen you around and it's a small town."

"Yeah, just got in yesterday." I said, unwrapping my straw and looking at her with my brow raised.

"Well, Welcome to Charming! I'm Denise." She said smiling and leaning forward on her elbows.

"Thanks." I said, trying to close the conversation. She didn't get the hint and continued sitting and smiling.

"So, there's a party out a Tommy's, the cook over there, parent's barn. You could come out and meet some new people." She said brightly. "I'll be right back, your food is up."

I took her leaving as a chance to roll my eyes and groan. I have no idea why she thought I was so approachable. I guess I should have worn a shirt that read bitchy ex-con. Denise set the plate in front of me and got back to her seat across from me. I despised being interrupted when I ate.

"So, you think you want to come?" She said looking at me with excitement. I shook my head.

"No, I've got to check in with my parole officer. Plus, I wouldn't buy y'all alcohol, nice try though." I said before taking a bite of my sandwich. Denise's smile faded. It was short lived as she started laughing shortly afterwards.

"You had me going there for a second. On that note though, I know you're new, so you should look out for those biker guys. You're really pretty and they're known for taking advantage of pretty girls. My dad says they're all trash and trouble." Denise whispered with a smile. I sat my sandwich down and leaned forward over the table.

"Those, biker guys?" I growled. She nodded obliviously. "My brother is one and I work with them. So, just maybe, you should get back to your job and watch your fucking mouth." I took another bite of my sandwich before throwing down a ten and walking out of the diner.

I walked back to the clubhouse and flung the door open. I despised anyone talking shit about my brother. He'd done so much for me, growing up faster than he should have had to. Gemma was sitting at the bar nursing a glass of clear liquid.

"Who pissed you off?" She said looking over at me as I slammed the door behind me. I shot her a look and stood in the entranceway, trying to keep from popping off.

"This fucking gash at the diner that wanted to talk shit about my brother and the club. Said she wanted to fucking warn me cause they take advantage of pretty girls." I spat as I sat down next to her. I leaned over the bar and grabbed a glass and a bottle of whiskey.

"It's not five yet." Gemma said simply. I looked over at her while I poured a glass.

"Yeah, you should talk. That doesn't smell like water." I said with a smirk. She laughed and nodded, raising her glass for a toast. I clinked my glass to hers before downing it.

"Don't worry about what that gash said. She's pissed because she tried to be a sweet butt, but nobody wanted her. That's saying something considering Tig fucks anything with a pulse, and some without." Gemma said matter of factually. I laughed and leaned back in the bar chair. I knew I had a temper, especially when it comes to Happy.

Gemma sat her glass down and dug around in her suitcase of a purse to find her ringing phone. She flipped it open quickly. I shook my head. Even the head old lady has a burner phone. I would have laughed had Gemma's expression not changed so drastically.

"When?" She asked as she stood up. "Well, what the hell for?" She flipped the phone shut and grabbed her bag.

"Ay, what's going on?" I said, jumping down and following her out of the door. She unlocked her suv with her remote and looked over at me as she kept walking.

"Cops picked up Jax, Happy and Tig for some shit charge. Saying they were witnessed breaking in some apartment. Bull shit charges. I'm headed down to the station to see what in the hell Unser is thinking." Gemma said as she got in her suv. I rushed over to the passenger door and hopped in the seat next to her. She looked over at me but didn't say anything as she wheeled the car out of the lot.

**With Gemma and Karma's tempers put together, what's going to happen at the police station? **


	7. Chapter 7

Gemma was putting the car in park while I was already getting out of the suv. I brushed past a woman in a pantsuit and heard her mouth off. Flinging the door open, I stormed in the police station. I looked around for the Sheriff's office as Gemma walked up behind me.

"Where's Unser?" Gemma said walking up to a desk where a blonde officer was looking between Gemma and I nervously. A balding, older man walked down the hall towards us and put his hands up. He looked like he had been through this type of problem with Gemma before.

"What the hell, Wayne? Chibs said you've got my boys locked up for some B and E?" Gemma said with one hand on her hip and one hand wildly gesturing as she let loose on the sheriff.

"Now, Gemma, I can't talk to you about an ongoing investigation, you know that. This wasn't my call. They're going to have to stay here until San Joaquin County comes and questions them." The sheriff said as he rubbed his scalp with stress written on his face. Gemma was forming her argument as I jumped in headfirst.

"Hi, Unser?" I didn't wait for him to verify. "You've got my brother locked up in some fucking cell and you're going to tell us you can't talk about why? Fine, they have to know why so I'm going to see my brother." I spat at him with narrowed eyes. Gemma smirked at Unser and gestured towards me as a type of silent introduction.

"You've got to be kidding me. Your brother?" Unser asked. I didn't answer and pushed by him in search of their holding cells. I heard Gemma laugh.

"I'd suggest you let her go. It's not gonna hurt her seeing her Happy." Gemma said with a serious undertone. Their conversation faded away as I made my way through the building. I finally found the holding cells and saw Happy.

"Karma, what are you doing here?" Happy said as he walked up to the barred door.

"Trying to figure out what the fuck these cops think they're doing. What's going on?" I asked leaning on the door. Happy sighed and looked at me sternly.

"Bullshit charges. Somebody said they saw us break into their neighbor's house up in Lodi. Funny thing is, we were in Oakland. Don't worry about it, we'll be out later tonight." I glared at him. He knew I was going to worry considering the three of them just got out from a fourteen-month stint inside recently. As pissed as I was, I knew my hands were kind of tied.

"Fine. I'll come pick you three up. Just call me when you're ready." I turned to leave, but looked back. Jax had been fuming over on the bench behind Happy. He was watching me leave. "Looking good, Jax." I said with a smirk. I saw his eyebrows rise as he fought back a grin.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked Gemma once I got back to the front of the station where she and Unser were still talking. Gemma lit up when she saw me.

"Boys okay?" She asked stepping towards me. I nodded. "Alright honey, let's go before you give the she-cop over there a heart attack. They aren't used to double drama when they fuck with our boys." Gemma shot the desk cop a look before walking out to the car.

We got back to Teller Morrow and I was still pissed, but at least I wasn't alone on the matter. Gemma walked over to Clay after getting out of the car and I headed to the garage. I slipped some coveralls on and walked over to a Triumph Bonneville sitting on a stand. I had noticed Juice working on the carburetor with some trouble earlier.

"Uh, Karma, you're not on the clock." Clay said leaning against the garage bay door. I didn't look up from the bolt I was working on getting off.

"I have to do something productive or I'm going to break shit." I said as I broke the bolt loose with a good amount of force. Clay grunted and walked out of the garage.

I finished disassembling the carburetor when Juice walked in. I looked over at him and handed him the wrench. He took it with a boyish grin.

"Sorry. I didn't want to step over you, I just needed something to do." I explained sheepishly. Juice waved it away.

"Don't worry about it. To be honest, you and your brother scare the shit out of me when you're not pissed, so I'm glad I wasn't around before you calmed down. For once he's a little less, uh, rough around the edges now that you're here. It's nice" He said with a laugh as he started working on the bike. I smiled back at him before I headed back to the clubhouse.

It was true. Happy and I could seem a little intimidating, but it was usually just appearances. He taught me to keep a strong face the day our dad was buried. We were riding in the funeral limo and I couldn't stop crying. My mom had gotten out of the limo, but Happy stopped me from following her.

He told her to give us a minute and closed the door. I remember wanting to curl up on his chest and disappear.

"Karma, listen to me." He had said sternly. "You're going to cry for one more minute and then you're never going to do that shit again. You don't get to feel sorry for yourself. You're breathing and living. You either smile or you don't show any emotion. You can feel however you want, you're human, but you keep that shit off your face, Mom can't handle that."

Those words in the back of that limo have stayed with me ever since. From then on, Happy and I have been closer than most families I've known.

I took my phone out of my back pocket and answered it quickly. It was Happy.

"Karma, we're ready." He said before hanging up the phone. I walked back over to Juice and asked for the van keys.

"I can't let you take the van, but I'll drive you over there." He said with a cute smile. I narrowed my eyes at him but didn't want to waste the time with arguing.

We pulled up in the station's lot and I slid the door open for Jax, Happy, and Tig as they waited on the sidewalk. Happy jumped in and kissed me on the cheek before sitting on the bench in the back with the other guys.

"Welcome to SAMCRO express. Today we will be going straight to Teller Morrow. Please keep all body parts in the vehicle at all times." I chirped as I turned back to the front.

"Well, you're in the vehicle and so is my dick so that means a quickie would be okay, right?" Tig said hopefully. I heard him grunt shortly after. I shook my head and laughed, wondering silently if it was Jax or Hap.

After we got back to the shop, I headed straight to the bar so I could unwind from this bat shit crazy day. I just opened a beer when Jax sat down next to me. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Fun day for you?" I asked sarcastically. He started to narrow his eyes, but let it turn into a smile instead. It was amusing how he tried so hard to blow me off. I leaned over and winked.

"You're a pain in the ass." He said, grabbing my beer and taking a long drink. I glared at him and took my beer back.

"Yeah? Maybe I just have some pent up energy." I said with a suggestive smile. He looked over at me and nodded.

"Thought I wasn't that great last time." He said turning towards me. I shrugged.

"Well, you're here and I'm feeling generous. You just have to try harder this time." Jax laughed and took my hand. He pulled me away from the bar and back to his room.


	8. Chapter 8

"God, Karma." Jax moaned as I ran my tongue over his earlobe. I was straddling him as he sat on the bed with his back against the wall. I arched my back and felt him even deeper inside of me. I started grinding up and down again, moaning with pleasure as he rubbed his hand over my ass.

"Put your hands up here, babe." Jax growled seductively as he placed my hands on the wall on either side of his head. I obliged and waited to see where he was going with that. He lifted me off of him and slid out from under me. In a moment, he entered me from behind. He had one hand on my ass and the other wrapped in my hair. As he pounded his considerable length into me, I lost control and clenched around him as I came stronger than I had ever come before. Jax followed right behind me. I heard him sigh with pleasure as he pulled my hair a little harder, enjoying his own ecstasy.

We laid beside each other and passed a joint back and forth. I started considering this to be something I could get used to. Jax rolled over on his side and kissed me playfully. I smiled and blew smoke into his face. He laughed and inhaled.

"If I fail a random and get thrown back inside for a violation, I'm going to kick your ass." I said to him, half joking. He took the joint from me and put it out in the ashtray as he shook his head.

"Nope, no more for you then. Can't have you going away when we're just starting to have fun." He said smacking my ass before rolling out of bed and putting his clothes back on. I smirked and followed suit. As fun as it was rolling in bed and fucking him, I had some shit I needed to take care of.

"So," I said as I put my bra back on. "Do y'all know who it was that made up that shit about you and the others?" Jax looked over at me and shrugged. Had he not been high, he probably would have shut me out.

"Some bitch out at Lodi Court apartments. She said we broke her neighbor's window and trashed the place. Fucking bullshit. Somebody's behind it but we don't know who yet. Clay's sending some prospects up to look around tomorrow." Jax said without giving it much thought. I wasn't his old lady, so by club terms he probably shouldn't have told me that.

We walked back out to the bar where Clay, Gemma, Happy, Tig and Chibs were hanging around talking and drinking. I took Happy's whiskey and shot it down before smiling sweetly at him.

"Hey big bro, I need to run to the store. Can I borrow one of the clients cars if I'm super careful?" I asked as I rested my elbow on his shoulder.

"The store? Right now? I'll just take you in the morning or something." Happy said refilling his glass with a glare shot at me. I bit my lip and thought on my feet.

"I need to get tampons so it can't really wait until the morning." I said as I narrowed my eyes at him. Jax raised a brow at me but didn't say anything. He could have blown my lie right then, but didn't. I would have to reward him for that later.

"Damnit Karm, I didn't need to know that. Here, take my bike." He said with a morbid look on his face. I looked at the keys and wrinkled my nose.

"Thank you, Hap, but I'm a little to high to ride. I had to smoke for my cramps and I really just need a car." I whined, shifting my bag from one shoulder to the other. Happy winced and waved a hand at me.

"Fucking Damnit Karma, I don't want to here that shit." Happy said as he put his keys back in his cut. Gemma walked over to me and smiled.

"I need to pick up some smokes, I'll take you, hon." She said as her eyes met mine. We shared a glance that spoke everything that the guys didn't need to know.

"Awesome! We'll be back." I said casually as I followed Gemma out to her suv. We got in and headed out of the lot.

"Where are we really going?" Gemma asked with a knowing look.

"Lodi Court." I said leaning back and opening my bag on my lap. I pulled out my CZ-75 compact and suppressor. I checked the magazine I had loaded and started screwing the suppressor into the barrel.

"Um, are you going to fill me in on what's going on in that pretty little head of yours or do you always get your tampons in Lodi with a suppressed 9mm?" She asked with obvious sarcasm. I laughed and put the gun back in my bag, fully loaded and assembled.

"That little cunt that wanted to throw the guys under the bus is going to play a round of twenty questions with me. She just doesn't know it yet." I said flatly. I felt an old sensation building up in my chest. It was a mix between choking and laughing. My blood was boiling and cold as ice at the same time.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm but you aren't thinking about running in there guns blazing now do you? You know the cops are probably keeping close, sweetie." Gemma said as she looked over at me. I laughed and patted Gemma on the knee.

"Gemma, you do remember I'm Happy's sister right? I know what I'm doing. I'm surprised you aren't behind me on this, Queen." I said with a wink. Gemma laughed and pulled the car into an apartment complex with a big sign reading "Lodi Court."

"Honey, I'm behind you 110%. Problem is I'm well known. Cops can spot me especially if they're on the lookout for the club. You on the other hand," She grinned dangerously as she put the suv in park. "You can fly under the radar for now. I'll be right here. Don't loose your head in there. I do in fact know you're Happy's sister, and I know how much he likes to shoot for wrong answers." Gemma leaned over and kissed me on the cheek before I raised my hood over my head. I winked at her and hopped out.

I walked up a flight of stairs and made my way casually down towards the apartment with a boarded up window. Luckily, it was an end apartment with only one neighboring unit. The apartment was dark and quiet. I knocked softly and waited a minute or so.

With the confidence that no one was home, I pulled out my old, laminated library card and shoved it between the door and the frame. I gave it a little push once I had it in front of the lock. The door popped open without so much as a deadbolt or chain to deal with.

"Yeah, your neighbor really got their shit broken into." I scoffed in disbelief. "Most people would deadbolt their fucking door after that." I was speaking out loud to myself as I searched through the small apartment. There were quite a few pictures of the same person, a shorter, twenty something girl with brown hair and big green eyes.

"Conceited bitch." I muttered as I checked the second bedroom. It was full of clothes and shoes and just crap. I rolled my eyes and shut the door. I was pretty sure she lived by herself, but mentally prepared for a two on one scenario just in case. I went and sat in the white, high backed leather chair to the right of the door and sat my gun on my leg as I waited.

I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out quickly to silence it's humming.

"Girl coming towards you. Alone." Gemma had texted me. A maniacal grin crept across my mouth uncontrollably. I switched the phone to silent and slid in back in my bag sitting on the table in front of me. I went stone rigid as I heard a key turn in the door.


	9. Chapter 9

The brunette girl from the pictures strolled in none the wiser. I watched as she flipped the light on and tossed her keys on a table by the door. She walked to the kitchen counter, across the room from me, and sat two brown paper bags down with a sigh of relief. I smirked, but remained silent.

A part of me wanted to lunge out at her and get this over with, but a larger, more sadistic, part of me enjoyed seeing how safe she felt as she went about her routine oblivious to my presence. After putting a carton of eggs in the refrigerator, she turned to grab the milk. She must have seen me in her peripheral. She dropped the milk carton, splattering milk everywhere as she got a familiar look on her face.

"If you scream, I will go ahead and fucking kill you now." I said as I lazily waved my gun in her general direction. Her eyes swelled up like she was going to cry. "Come sit down on the couch." I said flatly.

Her bottom lip trembled violently, but she did as she was told without a word. I narrowed my eyes at her as she sat down, avoiding looking at me. I laughed, which seemed to startle her further.

"I know you've already seen my face so you might as well be polite and look at me. What's your name?" I asked, leaning forward towards her. She looked up at me quickly and then back at the floor.

"H-H-Haley." She stammered. "You can have whatever you want. I have some cash and jewelry. The keys to my car are over there." She whimpered. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't want any of your shit, that's not what this is. You haven't really been on your best behavior recently." Her head shot up and she looked me in the face. Not the eyes exactly, but at least my mouth. "So, we're going to have a little girl time and a round of 20 questions. I get bored with the game though, so hopefully it doesn't take the full 20." I said as I leaned back a little.

She shifted a little and went back to looking at the floor. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly.

"Who are you?" She asked with a piss poor attempt at bravery. I laughed and shook my head.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I ask questions, you answer. So, first, what happened to your neighbors window?" I asked casually. Her brow crinkled as it shot up.

"Uhm, some big guys on motorcycles showed up and came up here. It was horrible. They broke the window with a crowbar or something and I heard them throwing stuff and talking. They were looking for something, but they seemed mad so I guess they didn't find it." She said quickly. If I'd actually wanted details, it would have been hard to understand her.

"So, these motorcycle men, do you know who they were?" I asked. My mind was screaming at me to cut the shit and beat information out of her. She nodded slowly. With each head nod I felt my blood temperature rise.

"They're from Charming. Sons of Anarchy. It was the blonde guy, a tall bald guy with scary eyes, and a guy with curly black hair. They were really scary." She said with a nod as if she was trying to convince me. I narrowed my eyes and felt my chest constrict with the urge to shoot her lying ass.

"You know what the number one rule of 20 questions is, Haley? You have to tell the truth. See, when you lie, I shoot. Now, lucky for you, I've only got thirteen rounds loaded right now, so you get a freebie on that lie. That's the only freebie. If I run out of bullets I'll just get creative." I said with a apathetic shrug. Tears started pouring from her eyes as she shook.

"I'm sorry. I-I can't remember." She sobbed. I rolled my eyes and racked a round in the chamber and pressed the suppressor to her knee. She flinched and tried to scramble away. I jumped up from the chair and slammed her back onto the couch with one hand wrapped around her throat and the gun still pressed to her knee.

"You have two choices. One, you remember really fucking quick. Two, you never walk the same. Haley, I really don't think this dress would look that great with a big scar on your leg. That is if they could save your leg. They might have to amputate." I said cheerfully. She swallowed hard as she stared at my smile.

"Maybe it wasn't them. I think I may have been confused." She nodded slowly, meeting my eyes for a minute. I pulled the gun back a couple inches.

"Who confused you, Haley?" I hissed through gritted teeth. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. I rolled my eyes with a sigh and pressed the gun back into her knee. "Seriously?"

"God, okay! It was this Mexican guy. Alvin or Al, something like that. He and this other guy broken in next-door and then came pounding on my door. I opened it, like a dumbass, and they gave me a thousand bucks to tell the cops it was those other guys." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why the fuck does it matter what scum did it? That trash needs to stay out of this city," She was going to continue, surely, but my temper got the best of me.

I cracked her over the head with the butt of my pistol and she fell unconscious. I held back the urge to shoot her in the knee for good measure. She had answered me though, so I didn't feel right about breaking the rules of our game. I grabbed my bag and dropped the gun into it.

As I pulled the door to behind me, I saw Gemma flash the suv lights once. I pulled my hood back up and walked as casually as I could. I got back in the suv and buckled up as I turned the radio up. Gemma looked over at me and laughed.

"Well?" She said with curiosity dripping from the simple word. I shrugged and started dancing in my seat.

"I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here? I don't… What?" I asked, stopping mid chorus of my favorite song. Gemma's eyes widened dramatically wide. "I like that song. Are we going to go?" I asked swaying back and forth to the beat. Gemma made a funny noise in her throat as she pulled out of the apartment complex.

When my song ended, I turned the radio down and looked over at Gemma. I was hyped up and giddy. She narrowed her eyes at me once she notice I was smiling over at her.

"Could we stop at a gas station? I really, really want a yoo-hoo and maybe some twizzlers." I asked, turning my head and fluttering my eyes at her. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine, but are you going to share what went down at your little house call?" She laughed again as she pulled into the gas station.

"Yep, I'll be right back." I said, hopping out of the suv and bouncing merrily into the store. I made a bee-line to the cooler, grabbing a couple yoo-hoos, before heading to the candy aisle. I was just reaching for the twizzlers when I saw sour gummy worms. I smiled and grabbed a bag. "Fucking sweet."

The cashier must have thought I was high and had the munchies. She eyed me with her old lady, judgy eyes and sighed when I paid with crumpled bills from my pocket. I let her keep the change and skipped back to Gemma's suv.

I offered her a yoo-hoo out of politeness, although I was more than happy when she turned it down. Once I ate a couple worms and washed them down with chocolately goodness, I turned to Gemma and took a deep breath to calm myself long enough to fill her in.

"So, little lying bitch said it was actually a couple of Mexicans who broke in next door. She said someone name Al or Alvin, she couldn't remember, paid her to tell the cops it was our guys." I said flatly. She looked over at me as I stretched a sour worm between my teeth and my hand.

"Fuck, had to be the Mayans. So, what, you just left her to put up her groceries?" Gemma said with a laugh.

"Nah, she got mouthy so I clocked her on the head with the CZ." I said with a bright smile. Gemma patted me on the leg and laughed.

"You know, I completely see you and Happy being brother and sister. You're both, um, a little eccentric." She said carefully. I raised my eyebrows as I dangled a candy worm above my mouth and dropped it. I grinned over at her.

"Never noticed." I said before turning the radio back up and dancing along to some Taylor Swift song that made me want to gut somebody.

**Sorry I haven't updated as quickly as before! For your understanding, I wanted to thank you with Chapters 8 and 9 in one update :) **

**If you haven't noticed yet, Karma may be a little, eccentric (to borrow Gemma's term). It's been fun to delve in and develop her character further. Don't think its all revealed yet, ****lovelies, there's still some mystery to our girl Karma.**


	10. Chapter 10

When we pulled back into the clubhouse parking lot, it was close to midnight. I noticed a couple bikes were still there. I smiled absentmindedly and unbuckled as Gemma parked.

"Don't think I didn't notice that. Everyone notices when you and Jax disappear together." Gemma said, lighting a cigarette. I shrugged and reached for the door, but she hit the lock button. I looked back over at her and sighed.

"Gemma, we're just having fun, okay?" I looked at her with a slight frown. I had actually started to like her and it seemed like she was going to go all momma bear on me. Instead, she smiled.

"Well, not that you probably want my opinion, but I think you'd be real good for him. You're feisty and seem to be on the same page about the club. Maybe he needs a little crazy in his life." She laughed and unlocked the door. I didn't really know how to take her crazy comment, but I smiled all the same as I got out of the suv.

When I walked in the clubhouse, I noticed Happy cut his eyes over towards me. I tried to bypass him and go straight over to Jax, but he stepped in front of me.

"You're kind of in the way." I said, trying to act like I hadn't just taken club business into my own hands without his knowledge or permission. He grabbed me by the elbow and led me back to his dorm. Shit.

"Where did you actually go, Karma?" Happy asked once the door was closed. I shrugged and offered him a yoo-hoo.

"Went to the store and then talked. I got you this." I figured if I left out who I talked to and lied about getting him something at the store he'd drop it. No such luck.

"Tell me you didn't do something other than go get tampons and yoo-hoos." He demanded, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and stepped back from him.

"I got sour worms and didn't get tampons." I said flatly. He crossed his arms over his chest and shot me a look that read dangerously. "Fine, I went and found out more about the whole b&e bullshit." I said, averting my eyes from him.

"Fuck, Karma." Happy said looking up at the ceiling. I cringed at the disappointment in his voice.

"What? You were going to send a fucking prospect and they would have been spotted a fucking mile away. I was in and out and found out who paid her off. Don't fucking look at me like I'm some kid. You're the one that taught me everything I know." I said, feeling my face heat up with frustration. Happy dropped his arms to his side and sat on the bed.

"Karma, you know it doesn't work like that. I wasn't going to send a prospect. Clay was. You know, the fucking president of SAMCRO? If you had that idea you should have at least brought it to me first. Now she's going to be jumpy and expecting us." Happy said with something between a growl and a sigh.

"If I had told you before hand, you would have shot my plan down. I may not be SAMCRO or a Son, but you know it's only because I don't have a fucking dick. She doesn't know who I am. It was the Mayans who paid her, so there's really no point in going up there tomorrow." I said matter of factually. Happy sighed and ran his hands over his scalp.

"Okay, okay, Karma. Look, just don't pull this type of shit without bringing it to the club first. I'll talk Clay into letting me go question her, alone. That way I can just go somewhere for a while and come back with what you already told me." He looked at me and removed any hint of emotion from his face. "I don't fucking like this. I don't lie to the club." I narrowed my eyes and him and headed for the door.

"You're welcome." I spat as I slammed the door behind me. Jax was just coming out of his room when I got out into the hall.

"Hey." He said with a smile. I glared at him before turning away. I went back to the dorm I was using and slammed the door behind me. The last thing I needed was another fucking lecture.

I was lying on the bed, staring at the reaper poster on the opposite wall. I may not be a son, but the club, at least the Tacoma charter, was my family. Happy knew that.

I closed my eyes for half a second before someone banged on the door. I ignored it until they just didn't stop knocking.

"Happy, I don't fucking want to," I stopped short as I stood face to face with Jax after flinging the door open. "Oh, it's you." I said simply. He responded by pushing past me and into the room. I rolled my eyes and shut the door before turning to him and folding my arms over my chest.

"Heard what you did." Jax said with a funny look on his face. I couldn't read if he was impressed or amused. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but it probably wasn't true." I said finishing off my fallacy with a shrug. The corners of his mouth dropped slightly.

"So, you weren't in Central for assaulting an undercover cop that was tailing Happy?" Jax asked with a raised brow. I snapped my head around and looked at him seriously.

"Where'd you hear that?" I whispered. I pulled my bottom lip in and ran teeth over it. Jax smiled.

"Juice hacked the facility records when I asked him to. Does Happy know why you used the cops face as a punching bag?" He looked me straight in the eye and smiled again.

"No and it needs to stay that fucking way. It's more complicated than that." I said, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. My cheeks went red as I turned away from his gaze. He walked back over to me and took my arms in his hands. I stared at the window.

"I know. At least most of it. Karma, why haven't you told Hap?" He held on to my arms as I tried to pull away. He was holding tightly, but not tight enough to hurt me, just hold me.

"I was stupid and I let my guard down. That could have led to not only Happy getting busted, but all of Tacoma's Sons. I let myself think he was just interested in Happy because he cared about me. I fucking introduced them. I found some papers in his car and then I saw him with a beat cop I knew." I sighed and quit fighting Jax. His grip loosened a little and he started stroking one of my arms.

"He was planning on following them on a run down here, so I followed him down to a deserted part of the highway and ran his car off the road with mine. Happy noticed and turned back but I was already on top of him before Happy made it back. He was knocked out, so I lied and said that he had cheated on me." I shrugged. "It felt like being cheated so I guess it wasn't too far from the truth. I told Happy to get back on the road. I was trying to start my car when the cops pulled up and arrested me."

Jax laughed. I turned my head to him and narrowed my eyes again.

"Sorry. I'm sorry, really I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because it sounds like something Gemma would do. The whole taking matters into her own hands part." He pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head. I relaxed and shrugged.

"At least he didn't get any actual intel." I said with a sigh. Jax laughed again. I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"You're secret's safe with me. Well, me and Juice." He told me reassuringly.

"I'll make sure to tell you if the next guy I'm with is a cop trying to weasel into the club." I joked. His face turned serious for flash before he smiled again.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that." He said before nipping my softly on the neck. I laughed and jerked away.

"Why do you say that, Teller? I'm apparently a cop magnet." He looked at me and shook his head.

"Last I checked, my application to Charming PD was declined." He said with a smile. I looked up at him and furrowed my brow. He sighed and kissed me deeply. When he pulled back, he was smirking.

"This is ridiculous, but let's try this out and see if it goes anywhere, Lowman." I laughed and shook my head.

"Jax, I may be new here, but your reputation precedes you. You don't do the whole relationship thing and I don't share." I said with a laugh.

"It's because I'm not a cop isn't it?" Jax joked. I slugged him hard on the arm. He laughed and kissed me again. This was insane, we hadn't known each other a week and he wanted to lock it down? Something inside me fluttered as I kissed him back.

"Fine, but when you're left heart broken, it's not because I didn't warn you." I said, surprising even myself. Jax shook his head with a smirk before kissing me again and grabbing my ass. I felt my stomach flip a little as he tossed me back on the bed and took off his shirt.

Regardless of how long this went on, I could get used to the view. I smiled as he joined me on the bed and ran his mouth from my neck to my stomach.

**Little bit of fighting, little bit of fluff, and a big reveal. Let me know what you think :) Happy Teller Tuesday to those of you in the states :)**


	11. Chapter 11

I felt something vibrate on my leg. Jax closed his eyes and groaned as he reached down and pulled out his phone.

"Yeah?" He said sharply. I kissed this side of his neck, causing him to give me an amused look and a headshake. "Shit, alright." Jax closed the phone as I shook my head at him.

"This is when you tell me you've got to go and you're sorry, right?" I asked kissing him on the chest and running my hand up and down his back. He nodded and stood up.

"Sorry, babe. I'll be back as soon as I can. Some shit's going on at the warehouse. Here," he said tossing me a key ring. "Move your shit to my room, if you want. This room used to be Tig's, so you probably don't want to stay in here."

"Ugh, seriously?" I groaned, hopping up from the bed. Jax laughed as he pulled his shirt and kutte on. He gave me a quick kiss and was out the door.

I looked over at the clock and saw it was going on two in the morning. No wonder I was worn out. I threw what little wasn't still in my moving box and headed down to Jax's room. I unlocked the door and threw my box by the dresser. I stripped down to my underwear and took my hair down before climbing into Jax's bed.

I fell asleep to the wonderful sound that was silence. The lack of sound after constantly hearing the sound of Brightly snoring or the guard's radio all night was comforting. The soft sheets and bed didn't hurt either. Before being locked up, I was notorious with any bed partner for kicking and rolling around a lot in my sleep. When I woke up Sunday morning though, I was in the exact same spot as I had started in.

It was close to ten o'clock and I was starving. I showered and got dressed in a white tank and black shorts with converses. As I was drying my hair, I heard a commotion brewing out in the clubhouse. I spit my toothpaste into the sink and headed out to see what was going on, despite my soaking wet hair.

There was a thin, blonde girl yelling at a Son with long, brown hair and an epic beard. He seemed pretty pissed, but made sure to keep his hands at his side as she threw her hands about wildly as she yelled.

"Seriously, Opie? That's my fucking job! I fuck guys in front of a camera. Surely you didn't forget that since marrying me. Are you going to get a legit job so I can just stay home with the kids?" The blonde yelled at the tree of a man. Considering I had just learned that she was a porn actress, I was interested to see where this was headed.

"Lyla, there's a difference in shooting porn and taking escort jobs on the side." Opie said with a deep voice. I scrunched my nose as I leaned against the wall. Personally, I would prefer my old lady to be an escort over a porn star. At least, as an escort, her pussy wouldn't be on screens across the world. Lyla apparently agreed with my thought.

"So, as long as it's on camera it's fine?" She screamed. I couldn't help but laugh. She whipped around and shot me a go to hell look.

"Who the fuck are you?" She snapped. I bit my tongue for a second. I decided she had the right to snap at me considering I had just gone from an innocent bystander, to a heckler.

"Sorry, I just found it funny that you and I thought the same thing when he said that shit. I'm Karma." I said with a smirk. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Is that you're real name or your stage name?" She asked with a suspicious gaze. I laughed at the irony of who was asking me that.

"On my birth certificate. I'm just going to grab a soda and finish drying my hair." I said, sliding over to the bar. She huffed and turned back on Opie. I caught him raise his hands in surrender out of the corner of my eye.

"Fine, okay? I get it, money's tight and there really isn't that much of a difference, I guess. Just, I'd prefer you stick to porn as your main job." He said, slowly walking over to Lyla and wrapping his arms around her. She sighed and actually shot me a small smile from over his shoulder. I laughed silently and shook my head. There's nothing like a biker and his porn star wife having a fight in the middle of a clubhouse to start your day.

I headed back to Jax's room and started drying my hair again. I finally got fed up with trying to style it and pulled it up into a ponytail instead. I headed back out to the clubhouse to throw away my soda can and a couple of beer bottles that were sitting around. Lyla was sitting at the bar with a bottle of water as she stared at her phone screen. I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked over to her after I threw the stuff away.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, I really wasn't trying to get in it or even listen in." I said with a weak smile. Lyla looked up from her phone and shrugged with a small smile.

"It's cool. You new around here? I haven't seen you hanging around before." She said politely. I laughed and shook my head. Lyla looked at me curiously.

"It's nothing like that. I'm not a croweater. I'm Happy's sister, Karma. Decided to move closer to family, ya know?" I said with a grin. Lyla sighed with relief.

"Thank God! No offense but the last thing this place needs is another croweater. I'm Lyla, again, Opie's wife, old lady, whatever you want to call it. You and Happy look alike now that I can see you past my rage." She said with a laugh. I nodded and shrugged.

"We used to get that a lot. To be honest I'm glad you're here. The croweaters are annoying as fuck. It's nice to have someone around that doesn't just see someone else with a vagina and think competition." I said as we both turned to see the door to the clubhouse open. Lyla's face darkened a little as she stood up.

"Speaking of which," she groaned looking at the fake blonde tart walking in the door in front of Happy. She was looking back and fluttering her eyes at him as he walked up to me. She shot me a bitchy look before turning to Lyla.

"Hey, we've got a scene coming up in like an hour." She said, sloppily gnawing on her gum. Lyla grabbed her bag and turned to me.

"It's nice to meet you, Karma. I'm sure I'll see you around." She said with a genuine smile. The other girl made a disgusted face towards me, causing Lyla to roll her eyes. "Ima don't even start, let's go." Ima looked at Lyla and smirked as she turned her eyes back on Happy.

"See you later, Happy baby." She said with a wink. I snorted as Happy looked like he was going to gag at the nickname. He shot a glare at me.

"Oh, come on, Happy baby, you aren't still mad are you?" I said in a sickening sweet voice. He shoved me aside and headed back to his dorm room. I followed him laughing. "Seriously though, Hap. Everything go okay?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah. Took a drive, got intel, gave intel to Clay, everything is fine, Karma." He said without any real emotion. I nodded and turned towards Jax's room. Happy made a noise.

"What?" I asked turning back to him. "Oh, yeah. Jax and I are trying out the whole dating thing, kinda." I said with a shrug. Happy raised his brow.

"Dating thing, kinda? Do you even hear yourself?" He said, shaking his head. I shrugged again and smiled sweetly.

"Well, Hap, he's a nice guy, for a biker, and he does this thing with his tongue that really sends me" I stopped short as Happy slammed his door behind him. I laughed and put my hand on the door knob just as Jax walked up.


	12. Chapter 12

"You seem tired." I said softly. He nodded and kissed me before opening the door and guiding me inside with his hand on my lower back. Jax shrugged his kutte of and hung it on the back of the chair, he then removed his holster and k-bar and sat them on the chair seat. His movements were slow and deliberate.

"This is me, Karma. No kutte, no knife, no gun, just me." He said heavily. I moved towards him and ran my palm from his chest to his neck.

"Jax, what's going on? What happened?" I whispered as I pulled him to me. He shook his head and pushed me back gently.

"Nothing," he said, obviously lying. He sighed and smiled a little. "I'm just tired." I didn't want to push him right now, so I just shook my head silently and kissed him on the cheek.

"Get some sleep, Jax." He nodded with a yawn as he kicked off his white sneakers and pulled his shirt over his head. I headed out, knowing he wouldn't sleep if I stayed there. Closing the door quietly behind me, I wondered what was under his skin.

"Good, there you are." Gemma said, walking around the corner. I inclined my head a little, wondering why she'd be looking for me. She wrapped her hand around my elbow and walked me out to the garage office. Gemma was silent until the door was completely closed behind us.

"We've got a problem." She said folding her arms across her chest and looking me in the eye. I waited for some type of explanation. When she was silent for a couple minutes I threw my hands up.

"Is this one of those role playing things where you say a sentence and I say a sentence and we see where the story goes? I mean I'm all for role playing but you're a little late, I'm with your son." She glared at me as I laughed.

"You're a smart ass." She sneered at me. I nodded and waited for her to tell me something I didn't already know. She sighed and put her hands flat on the desk as if to brace herself. "Look, one of the girls down at Cara Cara has an admirer of sorts." She started.

"Stalker, continue." I interjected. She nodded and rolled her eyes.

"They showed up at the studio and threw her around a little bit. Didn't hurt her really, just shook her up a bit." She continued. This time, I folded my arms across my chest and held up one hand to pause her.

"Gemma, I hate a guy that throws girls around as much as the next person, but why isn't this going to the club? It's their business, literally. I can't just meddle around in their shit." I said with a sigh, mentally hearing Happy's lecture in my head. Personally, I wanted to kick the guy's ass. Gemma looked at me and nodded.

"Yeah, darlin, I know. Problem is Luann is my best friend and asked me to find another way to deal with this shit. The leading men down there are intimidated anytime the boys go down there and handle shit like this. She's not wanting to chase her actors away." She said with an eye roll and a counter-active shrug. I looked down at my converses and shook my head.

"What exactly do you and Luann expect me to do? I'm not some hit man with a vagina." I said with a scoff. Gemma walked up and stood square in front of me and shook her head with a smile that only read trouble.

"No, sweetheart, no one wants the guy hit, just roughed up enough to remember not to come around. Look, I would love another mechanic, honestly, but what I really need is someone down there watching over those girls. The boys can't spare anyone right now." She said, trying to make it sound that simple. I let out an exaggerated sigh and mumbled inaudibly. Gemma raised her brow at me.

"I said, fine, I'll got baby sit the porn whores. I'll go ahead and tell you that I'm not taking shit from them either and you get to explain to my brother and Jax why I'm running security for their gashes." I said rolling my eyes. Gemma smiled sweetly and kissed me on the cheek.

"It's so great having you here. I think we're going get along just fine, you and me." She said as she handed me a piece of paper and a set of keys. "This is the address and those keys go to my Cadillac."

"Uh, what exactly are you giving me the keys to your car for?" I said with a laugh.

"Obviously you can't walk there every morning." She explained. I laughed again and shook my head.

"No, no, no. If I'm going to be driving a lot then I'll be getting my car out of Happy's storage building. No offense." I said with a grin. As much as I was not looking forward to working as a babysitter, I was looking forward to getting my car back.

"I'll be back in five minutes. I've got to get the key to the locker from Hap. You know where it is, right?" I said, pausing as I headed towards the clubhouse. Gemma laughed and nodded.

"I'll meet you in my suv." She said, lighting a cigarette and stepping out to the parking lot. I jogged back to Happy's door and tried the knob. He had locked it for once, most likely to keep me from continuing with our conversation about Jax's skills. I hammered on the door with my fist until it swung open. He looked half dead in his boxers and socks. I snorted a little, looking away in horror.

"Fuck, put some clothes on. Better yet, I don't care. Just give me the key to your storage locker. I need my baby." I said, holding my hand out. He knew better than to fight me on this and grabbed a key from his sock drawer.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" He growled. I nodded and laughed as I skipped childishly back out to the lot and up to Gemma's suv. She already had it cranked and facing the exit. I hopped in and closed the door behind me.

"You're going to love my baby!" I said with a smile as I popped a piece of gum in my mouth. Gemma just rolled her eyes and turned down the gum I offered her.

As soon as we pulled up to the storage locker, I hopped out and hurried to the door. I threw the lock down and waited dramatically to roll the door up.

"Well, come on then. Let's see what's got you all hot and bothered. It better not be some civic." Gemma said with a chuckle. I turned towards her and slapped my hand over my heart. She flipped me off and waited as I turned around and rolled the door up.

The love of my life was sitting there, covered up by her custom fit car cover. I undid the straps holding it to the front bumper and started pulling it back, slowly at first. Then, I got excited and flung it off in a flourish.

"Well I'll be damned. That's certainly no civic." Gemma said, walking into the locker and looking at my car.

"It was my dad's. I restored it while I was in school. It was his dream and he left the car to me, so I guess that means he wanted me to finish it." I said with a proud smile. Gemma laughed a little and turned back to her own suv.

"Well, come on darlin, you can help me get Sunday dinner ready. The guys will be there at six so we're running a little late." I cackled and gripped my stomach.

"Gemma, now that I have my baby, there's no such thing as running late." I smirked as I got in and cranked her to life. Gemma covered her ears in mock pain before getting in her suv and heading to the gate. My lovely sounded as great as she did the day I got arrested. Happy had assured me in multiple letters that he was starting it every week and keeping it well for me. Obviously by the way it roared to life and sprung at the throttle, he wasn't kidding.

I had to be sure not to get a ticket just yet, but that didn't stop me from messing with Gemma. As we sat at the main red light in charming, I noticed her window was down so she could smoke. I chuckled to myself as I revved the engine. She tolerated it for a minute until she finally had enough. She flipped me a bird and rolled her window up.

I barely noticed the stares I was getting from pedestrians. I decided to behave and not push my car too fast from sitting in storage so long and followed Gemma to her house at a normal speed.

We made quick work of assembling a huge lasagna and salad. Once the pan was in the oven, Gemma pulled out a joint from a cabinet and lit it. I smiled thanks as she passed it over to me. We passed the joint back and forth and made small talk about growing up and jail as dinner cooked.

Right at six o'clock, we heard a group of Harley's pull up. Gemma grinned at their punctuality as she pulled the delicious looking lasagna out of the oven. The front door opened and the guys all piled in. Clay, Jax, Opie, Chibs, Bobby, Tig, Juice, and Happy followed by Lyla who was carrying what looked to be a pie.

Juice cut in front of Jax and put his hands on my shoulders, looking at me intensely. I raised my brow in question.

"Please tell me that's your car outside." He pleaded. I laughed and nodded. "Seriously? You have a mint condition 1974 Plymouth Barracuda? The black on that is so slick it looks like a fucking mirror! Can I please drive it?" He said, shaking me a little. I laughed and shook my head no, much to his horror.

"No one but me drives it. Well, Happy does sometimes but only when I can't. I really don't trust anyone not to stand her up." I said with a shrug. His eyes widened.

"Please don't drive the final dagger and say it's a HEMI." He said, lacing his hands together in mock prayer. I shrugged and winked at him. "Mother fucker." He moaned. Jax rolled his eyes and pushed Juice aside. He kissed my lips softly before taking my hand and leading me to the seat beside his. I noticed all the eyes on us. Well, I guess that was one way to tell everyone we were together.

Lyla sat down next to me and wiggled her eyebrows at me and nodded towards Jax. I smiled and hitched a shoulder. We looked at each other, silently speaking volumes before we both cracked up laughing. Opie eyed us and opened his mouth.

"Don't bother, brotha. We probably don't even want to know." Jax said as he dumped some lasagna on his plate. Everyone started conversing and eating and I couldn't help but smile over at Happy. He returned my smile briefly before going back to telling Juice all about the Barracuda rebuild.

Jax put his hand on my thigh and squeezed a little. I looked over at him, still smiling.

"Welcome to the family, darlin." He whispered. As if by magic, my smile grew wider. This was so much better than Tacoma. Maybe I would stick around after all.


	13. Chapter 13

"Why are you up so early, babe?" Jax mumbled with his face still down in the pillow. I pulled my black t-shirt over my head and looked over at him. He was sprawled out on his stomach, giving me a nice view of his reaper and rockers tattoo.

"I've got to go to work, Jax." I said as I dug around in my box for a pair of shorts. I pulled on the frayed, denim shorts and slipped on my converses, heading into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

"Shop doesn't open until eight and it's literally right outside." Jax groaned. I circled the toothbrush around my mouth vigorously and spit the foam into the sink before walking out and grabbing my bag and keys. He must have heard them jingle, because he rolled over and sat up, looking at me curiously.

"Babe, I'm not working at the shop right now. Your mom asked me to do something else and I'm already running late." I bent down and kissed him as he grabbed me by the ass and tried to pull me back into bed. "No, Jax. I'm leaving. Nice hair by the way." I said, kissing him one more time before hurrying out of the room.

I rushed out to my car and headed out, following the directions from my phone's GPS. I pulled into the parking lot with five minutes to spare. The sun was just rising over the mountains to the east as I lit my cigarette and headed into the metal building.

"You must be Karma! I'm Luann. Thank you so much for doing this. As well endowed as my actors are, they shrink up if the Sons come around." The lady said, wrapping her arms around me. I didn't move, uncomfortable by the strange hug and her big, fake tits smashing onto my own chest.

Her hair was almost as big as her boobs, with honey high lights running through it. Her make-up was heavy and her top hung loosely off her shoulders, pretty much the stereotypical porn director look. She dropped her arms from me and I noticed the crow tattoo on her upper arm.

"I'll have Lyla show you around and then you can talk to Pepper. She's the one I'm worried about. Sorry, I've got to finish setting up for the jello scene." She said, pulling Lyla over before she hurried off, heels clicking on the concrete floor.

"Hey, girl! Luann said she was bringing in security, didn't realize you were that." Lyla said with a smile and she showed me a locker I could put my bag in. I shrugged as I shoved my bag in and locked the door.

"Well, anyways, the sets are over here." She said, leading me over to an open part of the studio that had some temporary walls and currently had a huge, inflatable pool that Luann was filling with economy sized jello mix. Lyla laughed as I raised my eyebrows. She showed me the storeroom and the office before leading me back to the female performer area.

"Pepper! Hey, this is Karma. She's going to hang around and make sure Mike doesn't come back and try to mess with you." Lyla said, pulling a topless girl with bright red hair over to us. She blushed and looked down at her stilettos.

"Luann is just exaggerating things. I'm fine, really. He was just mad I didn't text him back. He doesn't understand I'm not interested." Pepper said with a southern drawl to her sweet voice. I raised my brow and grabbed her elbow, moving her arm so I could see the back.

"Yeah, last time I had a black and purple arm I made sure the asshole got the point." I said pursing my lips at her. She giggled nervously and shrugged as I let her arm go. The door to the room opened to reveal Ima in a tiny, white bikini.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, scrunching her nose at me. I smiled and gave her a sarcastic wave.

"Karma is here to make sure Mike doesn't cause any more problems." Pepper said with a smile as she put on her own, matching bikini top. Ima laughed coldly and looked me up and down.

"How very butch of you." She said with a wink before walking out, arm in arm with pepper.

"She's a stupid bitch." Lyla said as she checked her hair in the mirror. I nodded in full agreement as we headed out to the studio. She was dressed in blue jeans and a tied up flannel shirt, so I guessed she wasn't in the desert porn shoot. She walked over to Luann, looking at the monitor that was showing the camera angles of Pepper and Ima making out in the jello pool.

I took a seat on a barstool by the main entrance and lit a cigarette as I pulled out my phone. I was flipping through pictures of Tacoma, deleting most of them until Jax's name popped up on the screen.

"Hey, Jax." I said casually as fake orgasm screams filled the air around me.

"So I take it you made it to work okay? I can't believe my Mom didn't run this by us before just sending you down there." He said with an agitated edge to his voice.

"Sorry, babe. Apparently they thought this needed a woman's touch." I said, with a laugh. Jax loosened up and laughed back.

"I don't know how I feel about you talking about touching at a porn studio without me there." Jax said teasingly. I smiled and felt that familiar warmth take over me.

"I'll make sure you feel better when I see you." I said. I had planned on continuing the explanation of my plan until the door opened and a dirty looking guy walked in. He was looking around and was obviously tweaked on something. I had a feeling he didn't belong here.

"Karma?" Jax broke through my mental noise. I stood up and headed over towards the door.

"Sorry, Jax. I gotta go." I said as I ended the call. I could hear him asking questions until the call disconnected and I slid it back in my pocket. I walked over to the guy casually, hoping not to startle him.

"Can I help you with something?" I said flatly. He turned towards me and cocked his head as I noticed how tiny his pupils were.

"Where's Pepper?" He asked, not really focusing on me. I knew it was only a matter of time before he saw her or heard her.

"Buddy, you need to get your shit together and leave. Nobody wants you coming around here." I said, taking a step forward and nodding towards the door. Just then, Pepper walked across the studio in nothing but a towel. She caught sight of him and let out a little scream.

The guy lunged forward, running towards her as Lyla shoved her towards the performer room. I caught his arm and yanked him back, digging my heels into the concrete. He swung around and caught my jaw with a wild punch.

"You son of a bitch," I growled, bringing a knee up and connecting hard where his kidney was. He groaned and spun around as he tried to shove me off of him. I took advantage of his imbalance and kicked him hard behind the knee. He fell face forward, hitting the floor hard as I put a knee between his shoulder blades, using all of my body weight to keep him down.

I had my hand on the back of his neck, pushing down hard when I heard a scream over by the set. I turned to see what was going on, shifting my weight just enough for him to flip me over. He shoved me into the ground and wrapped his fingers around my neck. I tried to punch him in the head, but he dodged, laughing mockingly.

"As soon as I'm done with Pepper, I'm coming after you. I like a girl that fights back." He said when he punched me hard in the face. He climbed off of me and headed back towards the performer room. I sat up, spitting out blood and grabbed my knife from underneath the back of my shorts. I stood up, shakily and headed to follow him. He was yelling at Ima to get out of the doorway.

He reared back to hit her when I drove my knife into the spot between his shoulder blade and his spine. He screamed out in pain and fell to his knees. I kicked him swiftly in the ribs and pulled my knife out. I reached around, holding it to his throat.

"This is your last chance to leave. If you come back here or ever try to see any of these girls again, I will kill you." I growled into his ear. He whimpered and nodded frantically. I wiped his blood off of my knife using his shirt and kicked him away. He crawled up to his feet and headed out to the parking lot as quickly as possible.

Lyla wrapped her arms around me as I sat down on the ground by the small pool of blood. It'd been a while since I fought a guy. The girls in prison were vicious, but I could usually over power them.

"Here you go, Karma." Ima said as she handed me a sandwich baggie filled with ice. I put it on my jaw carefully, wincing at the cold burn on my sensitive skin. I heard the roar of motorcycles approaching and then shut off.

"Shit." I muttered as I watched Happy fly in to the building, followed closely by Jax and Opie. Lyla bit her lip as they got closer.

"Karma, are you okay?" Happy asked, picking me up from the floor. He looked from me, to my knife, to the pool of blood on the floor. "What the fuck happened?" He said, holding me by the shoulders.

I shook him loose and scowled at him as I gave him a rundown of what happened, leaving out the guy's threat. Happy's face darkened as he shook his head.

"This is bullshit. You're on fucking probation, you can't be running fucking security like this. When did you get your knife back?" He asked, eyeing my fixed blade on the ground.

"I had one in my glovebox." I said with a shrug. The back of my head was aching from being slammed onto the ground. Happy picked up my knife and started wiping it down as Jax walked up to me.

"Hey." He said, touching my neck softly. I took his hand and moved it over to my uninjured cheek. He frowned as he kissed me roughly on the mouth.

"How bad does it look?" I said, exposing my neck to him as I reached up and felt the back of my head. I pulled my hand back when I felt warm wetness on my fingers. Jax grimace.

"Not as bad as that. We've got to get Chibs to look at that, your head is bleeding pretty bad sweetheart." Jax said, leading me towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Happy said gruffly. I turned back and looked at him.

"Apparently the Scott needs to check my head." I said, feeling dizzy as we got outside. Happy followed us and got on his bike as Jax helped me in my car and slid in the drivers seat. Normally, I would have contested his driving, but I didn't feel like arguing.

"I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon, Jax" I said with a yawn. He looked at me quickly and shook his head.

"Don't you dare go to sleep, you may have a concussion." Jax said, shaking my leg with his hand on my knee. "He better look a hell of a lot worse than you."

I nodded and rested my head on the window. Jax drifted my car into the parking lot and cut the car off, not bothering to park it in a space. Happy pulled up right after us, walking his bike back into line with the ones already parked.

"Come on, sweetheart." Jax said as he picked me up and carried me into the clubhouse. I heard Happy beating on Chibs' door and yelling for him to get out and help. I looked up to Jax and scowled.

"I'm fine. Y'all need to just chill the fuck out." I said roughly. Jax glanced down at me for a second but didn't say anything or change his expression at all. I saw Chibs' face over mine and smiled.

"Morning." I said as brightly as I could. He laughed and returned my greeting before having me roll over on my stomach.

"Aye, ya've got a nice split back here, Karma. I'll put some stitches in. They won't be pretty, but your hair will cover it up anyways. You probably have a concussion, so no sleeping it off." Chibs said as he started running a sewing needle through my scalp.

"Damnit, you could have warned me first. Fuckin' a." I growled as I gripped the hell out of Jax's hand. I tried not to move as much as possible as Chibs finished up on the fourth stitch.

He tossed his tools down and tapped me on the shoulder. I sat up on my knees slowly and smiled at him.

"Thank you." I said as he took off his glasses and put them back in his pocket.

"Aye, no problem. Just try not to bust them open." Chibs said with a smile as he headed back down towards his room.

Happy handed me another bag of ice as Jax helped me down off the table. I headed down to Jax's room without a word. I appreciated their help but it was embarrassing to be treated like a little girl.

A few minutes after I laid down on the bed, Jax came in and sat beside me. I looked up at him for a second before looking away.

"You can't go to sleep, Karma." Jax said softly as he rubbed my bare leg. "I like this one." He said, tracing the watercolor tattoo of a little girl holding balloons on the side of my calf. I sighed and swung my legs over to him.

"I've had worse injuries, Jax. I'm not going to break if I go to sleep, trust me. I get that you're upset I got hurt, but please don't fawn over me. It irritates me." I said, not looking at him again. Jax took his hand away and leaned back, resting his back on the bed.

"You're just as hardheaded as your fucking brother. Don't act like I'm being a dick for caring." He said, closing his eyes as I looked over at him. I didn't say anything, despite the desire to tell him off. Instead, I fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

I woke up with a major headache as Jax was pulling his shirt on. I recognized Happy's voice from him yelling out in the clubhouse. After swinging my legs off the bed and struggling to sit up, Jax walked over to me and frowned.

"You still pissed at me?" He asked, helping me get up from the bed. I didn't know the answer to that question, so I didn't say anything. Without a word, I headed out to the clubhouse to find my brother.

Happy quit yelling when he saw me walk around the corner. He still looked pissed, but he followed my lead and went outside with me. I sat on a picnic table bench and looked up at the sky. Apparently, my nap had lasted most of the day because the stars were shining down with no moon in sight.

"We've got to finish this shit." I said, looking from the stars to Happy. His expression remained unchanged as his coal black eyes looked into my green eyes. "Can't bring the club into this. No vote. No table. This is on me. He hurt me and would have done worse to those girls. We finish this shit tonight."

"Karma, we don't even know where to find the asshole." Happy said, joining me at the picnic table.

"We know who does know where to find him. You can either drive the 'cuda or follow me on your bike. Pepper should still be at cara-cara according to their shooting schedule that was in their talent room." I said, rising slowly and heading over to my car.

I flung the door open and grabbed my keys from the ignition, where Jax had left them, and went around to open the trunk. I heard Happy sigh as he walked over to join me. He raised the trunk lid and looked at me curiously. I smiled and leaned in as I pulled up the carpet.

"That's a hell of a spare tire, little sister." Happy said with a whistle. I laughed, noticing the shock of pain it sent to my head. When I was finishing the rebuild of the car, I had decided to be practical and replace the spare tire with a tactical bag.

"Grab that, it's heavy." I told Happy, stepping to the side so he could grab it. He pulled it out and stared at me as I put the carpet back down and directed him to set it back in the trunk.

"Karma, do you not remember me reminding you about probation? I doubt you're about to pull out girl scout cookies." He looked down at the now opened bag and shook his head. "Shit."

"Shut up, Happy. You're on probation just as much as I am and you carry every day." I said with a laugh as I pulled out my Kevlar vest and rummaged around in the bag for the gun I was looking for. I started handing Happy the contents of the bag so I could get down to the bottom.

"Seriously? Why the fuck do you need a fucking grappling hook? Are you bat girl?" He asked, holding the folding grappling hook I had handed him. I shook my head and handed him a set of throwing knives before pulling out my gun case.

"You can put that stuff back in. Do me a favor and grab those two mags out of the right pocket." I said, flipping open the case and pulling out my Colt 1911 and admiring it for a minute.

"You still have that?" Happy asked quietly when he recognized the pistol. I looked over at him and smiled as I handed it over to him and swung my vest on. "Dad really took care of it huh?"

"Yeah, he did. Don't think I didn't see his Kimber in your closet in there." I said while I pulled on a black hoodie from the bag. Happy handed the gun back over and watched me carefully as I loaded a magazine and racked one in the chamber before sliding it in my holster and putting my hood up.

"I gotta ask, why not just use your CZ? I know it's in your bag. It was in the box I brought here." Happy said once we got back in to his dorm room so he could grab an extra magazine and a hoodie. I shook my head.

"I told you, this is personal. I love the CZ but it just doesn't have the personality the Colt does. When I use the CZ, it's great and reliable and all business. When I use the Colt, it's all that but I've got a symphony playing in my head as I glide across the dance floor with it." I explained as I waited for him.

"Yeah, you're my sister." Happy said with a happy laugh as we walked back towards the clubhouse. I slugged him and rolled my eyes.

"You had doubts?" I said smiling. My smile faded a little when I saw Jax walk towards us. I wasn't pissed at him anymore, but I couldn't involve him in this. To do that would be to involve the club, and then it would push me out.

"Yeah, well, you could have been adopted. Guess not though." Happy said with a nod to Jax. "I'll meet you in the car."

"Where are you going, babe?" Jax said, running his hand down from my shoulder to my hand. I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"We're just going to have some bonding time. Someone has been interrupting our family reunion with sex." I said, winking at him innocently. I could tell he didn't believe me, but the fact that Happy was going with me probably eased his mind.

"Be careful." He said with a weak smile as he walked back towards his dorm room. I bit my lip and felt a little guilty for lying to him. I turned to follow him until I heard my car start up outside. I pushed Jax from my mind and headed out.

Happy didn't say anything when I got in the car, which was a relief. I turned the radio off and rolled down my window, gathering my thoughts and leveling my head. I liked Jax, a lot, but I do shit my own way and thinking about his feelings or opinions weren't going to help right now.

When we pulled into Cara-cara, Pepper was just walking out to her old, beat-up truck. I hopped out of the car and jogged over to her. She spun around with terror when I put my hand on her shoulder. I kicked myself for not thinking about her being jumpy.

"Sorry, it's just me, Pepper." I said, yanking my hood down. The color returned to her face as she smiled.

"Karma! God, you scared the shit out of me. I thought you might be Mike." Pepper said with a shameful look at her feet. I shook my head and tried to come off natural.

"I'm sorry, shouldn't have snuck up on you. Look Pepper, I want to drive by and make sure he's staying put. Just to make sure the message stuck. Do you have his address?" I said, putting a caring hand on her shoulder. She smiled and nodded, digging around in her purse. I silently thanked the gods that she was as dumb as she looked.

"Here ya go. Thank you so much, Karma. My phone number is on there to. I mean, in case you need to call me about Mike or anything." Pepper said bashfully. Even in the darkness, I could see her cheeks turn red. I bit my bottom lip from the level of awkwardness as I nodded and turned back towards the car. I took a few steps when I heard a bag drop and her heels crunch on the gravel.

As soon as I turned around, her arms were around my neck. She was hugging me tightly, which sent shocks of pain through my ribs and the bruising on my neck screamed in agony. I pulled away and gave her a small, sympathetic smile before hurrying back to the car. Happy was laughing as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"What?" I asked, shooting him a glare. He shook his head and slowly stopped laughing before glancing over at me and smiling at my glare.

"Think you've got an admirer, Karma. Don't know what she woulda done had I not been in the car." He said, trying to stifle another laugh. I shoved the piece of paper with Mike's address at him and rolled my eyes.

"What are you talking about? She's just freaked out from earlier." I rationalized. This was hilarious to Happy.

"Next time you save a girl, might want to know how she's planning on repaying you. There's a big reason why that girl in particular didn't want a guy stalking her." Happy said, turning down Mike's road. I snapped my head around to look at him. He shrugged with a smile.

"That's his house. Red sedan." I said, pointing at a small, blue house, two houses up and on the left. Happy quit smiling and nodded once, pulling the car over to the curb a few houses past Mike's.

"You stay behind me until he's down, Karma. You get knocked around and those stitches are going to bust." Happy said as he shrugged his kutte off and put it in the back seat. I nodded, deciding he was probably right, and pulled my hood up as I got out of the car.

The houses around had dark windows and no one seemed to be up to snooping this late. Happy and I made our way up to Mike's house, finding it to be just as dark. Happy stepped aside as I picked the lock quickly before stepping back and letting him lead the way inside. The house was small, so it didn't take long to clear the living room and kitchen. We headed down a short hall to a bedroom door that was cracked open. I could hear a television blaring inside over the loud snores coming from behind the door.

Happy looked back at me for a second before nodding and heading inside the room slowly. I waited at the door with my gun trained on Mike's sleeping form in the bed. Happy crept over and pressed his gun to Mike's bruised temple. He jumped as his eyes flew open.

"Do not make a sound. Put your shoes on and stand up. Slowly." Happy growled, moving a couple feet from Mike, aiming his gun at the terrified man's face. His eyes darted around until he saw me. He started whimpering and looked up at Happy.

"Look, man, I was high. She kicked my ass. I'll stay away from Pepper. You don't have to do this." He begged while he slipped his foot into his sneaker. Neither of us responded to his pleas.

"Keep your hands behind your back and don't say a word or try to run." Happy instructed him. He grabbed Mike's upper arm and shoved him out of the room and towards the front door.

As much of an ass Mike was, he was smart enough to do as Happy said. We made it to the car before he started asking questions.

"Where are you taking me? Look, I'll give you money or something if you just let me leave. I won't even come back to Charming. You won't see me again." He bargained as Happy shoved him in the back seat before climbing back there with him. Happy kept his gun pointed at Mike, ready to shoot if he tried to make a move as I drove out of the neighborhood.

"Head north and I'll tell you when to stop." Happy directed me. I heard Mike whispering something to my brother as we headed out of Charming, but the sound of the Barracuda's Hemi engine made it impossible to hear him. After driving for about twenty minutes, Happy told me to stop.

"Head into that dirt pull off and get this thing parked behind those trees." Happy growled. I watched him look behind us for any other cars. Once the car was concealed well into the tree line, I cut the engine and got out of the car.

Happy yanked Mike out of the car and shoved him along through the woods. About a hundred yards in, Happy stopped and nodded to me as he grabbed both of Mikes arms and held him still.

"Nice to see you again, Mike." I toyed with him with a dark grin. He tried to mask his fear with threats as I walked right up to him.

"You stupid bitch. I should have killed you at that whore's work. What do you think you're going to do? Hurt me?" Mike sneered. Happy shoved his pistol barrel into the knife wound I'd made earlier, making Mike scream.

"You can go ahead and scream, no one is going to hear you. Here." I pulled the trigger of my Colt that was aimed at his knee. "Now you have something to fucking scream about."

Mike dropped to his knees and Happy left him there, walking over and stopping beside me. I tossed the shovel I had grabbed from the passenger seat at Mike and smiled.

"Dig." I spat at him. He looked up at me and raised his brow. I aimed my 1911 at him again. Something about looking down the barrel convinced him to pick up the shovel and start digging a hole in front of him. Happy had an amused look on his face.

"I'll have to keep this in mind. Cuts down on the work. I mean, prospects do it anyways but this is just poetic." He whispered over to me as Mike dug away at the hole. He was smart enough to make the hole fairly wide.

"Stop. You're too fucking slow." I snapped at him, seriously annoyed with how long it was taking him to dig. Happy laughed.

"Should have waited to shoot his knee until after he dug." Happy said matter of factually. I shrugged as I kicked Mike back down in the hole that he was trying to climb out of. He looked up at me, silently begging me to stop. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger twice. There was a thud and I felt Happy's hand on my shoulder.

"Head back to the car. I'll take care of this, Karma. You're not digging and filling with a concussion." He said, giving me a kiss on top of the head and pushing me gently towards the car.

I stumbled through the woods as I made my way back to the car. It was done, but I was tired both mentally and physically. I knew Happy would talk to me about this eventually, but not tonight. Tonight he'd let me rest and process the events of the day. It had been a while since I had taken somebody's life, and it wasn't something I did lightly.

Happy got back in the driver's seat about an hour after I had passed out in the passenger's seat. I looked over at him, covered in dirt, and smiled dizzily. We didn't have to speak. He knew I was thankful for him and I knew he was worried about me.

It wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot that Happy spoke. He was just parking the car when he turned to look at me.

"We can do it tomorrow if you don't feel up to it. You should probably wait anyways." He said with a tinge of concern to his voice. I looked over at him and shook my head.

"No. We do it now. It's on the other side anyways." I said, climbing out of the car slowly. I looked up at the small, dark building as Happy headed towards the door and turned the key.

"Freddy gave me a key a couple months before I went in. I guess he knew it needed to be done at all hours of the night." He said as he cut the lights on of the tattoo shop. I looked around at the pictures from the Vietnam war and what must be Freddy's family on the wall. Happy pulled a case out of a closet and set his stuff up as I climbed up on the table beside him.

"What color?" He asked, looking over at me as I pulled my vest and hoodie off.

"Red. This one was selfish. I can't use blue." I said as I pulled my shirt up to expose my ribs to him. He nodded and got out red ink for my next lotus tattoo. Happy lined up the standard design that he kept in his case for me and got to work on my tattoo.

"What does the red mean again?" He asked as he worked on the black outline of the tattoo. I didn't flinch, enjoying the familiar pricking from the gun's needles. The only uncomfortable part was the vibrations it sent to my other side, where my ribs were killing me.

"Red is the heart lotus. It symbolizes emotions." I said as I wrinkled my nose, feeling a stinging in my bruised ribs. Happy nodded and continued working on the outline.

"You need to get that white one touched up once your other side stops bothering you. You ever show it to mom before?" Happy asked, not bothering to finish with 'before she died.' I shook my head.

"No, she would have asked too many questions. As far as she knew, they were just flowers. Would have asked why all the others are red or blue." I said, taking a deep breath as he switched needles before starting on the shading.

"Yeah, but it was for him, Karma. She had a pretty good idea anyways, she may have surprised you and understood." Happy said as he moved the needles smoothly filling in the red flower. I smiled and closed my eyes, trying to imagine the conversation.

"Yeah, I could have gone in at the dinner table and lifted my shirt. She would have asked why I got a white one. Then I could say, 'Well, Mom. I finally tracked down that monster that killed Dad. The lotus is white because it represents the perfection and enlightenment I achieved by killing the son of a bitch.' You think that would have gone over well?" I said, grinning at how I imagined our mother would have reacted. Happy laughed and shook his head.

"Well, she would have been happy that you count with something more creative and symbolic than smiley faces." He said with a shrug.

**Just some info on Karma's tattoos: every tattoo has different meanings to different people but Karma uses buddhist lotus colors to decide what color her lotus is. There will be more back story on why she chose the lotus later.**

**Hope everyone enjoys this chapter :) Don't worry there will be more Jax later, but she and Happy needed to have some family time first.**


	15. Chapter 15

When we got back to the clubhouse, Jax was asleep in his bed. If I said I wasn't surprised he was alone, it would be a lie. I headed into the bathroom as quietly as possible; hoping the sound of the running shower wouldn't disturb him. I could hardly stand the coolness of the water against my skin, but hot waters and sanitizing tattoos don't go well together.

"Hey babe," Jax's low voice came as he joined me in the shower. I jumped a little from surprise before turning and smiling at him.

"I'm sorry, I tried not to wake you." I said after kissing him under the falling water.

"It's ok, I'm happy to wake up to this." Jax whispered into my ear as he ran his hands down my arms until he rested them on my hips. "There a reason you're freezing us with ice water?"

"Fresh ink." I muttered as I pressed my body against his and kissed him hard. He moved his hands around and grabbed me up by my ass. His hard length pressed into my stomach as he moved his mouth down to my neck, alternating between kissing and raking his teeth across my skin.

"God! Jax!" I moaned as I wrapped my fingers around his member. I felt his mouth grin on my skin as I moved my hand up and down his whole length slowly. He backed up against the shower wall and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he lowered me down onto him. My mouth parted slightly as my body seemed to stretch to accommodate his width.

Jax slid down to a sitting position as water showered my back, giving me goose bumps down my spin. He rested his hands on my hips as I moved up and down on his member. I bit my lip and let my head fall forward to rest on his shoulder as he held me still and thrust further into me. I could feel the tension building up inside me and tried to stifle a moan. Jax kissed me and moved his right hand between us to rub my clit with his thumb.

"Fuck, Karma." Jax groaned as I sank my teeth into his shoulder as my body quaked with a flowing climax that sent warmth all through my body. I felt Jax's breath quicken as he thrust quickly and came inside my still tingling body.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed the deep marks I'd made in his shoulder. There were a few specks of blood near the canine impressions that made me blush. Jax was smiling as he stood up and moved into the shower stream for a minute.

"I'm sorry about your shoulder, Jax." I said as I dried myself carefully with a towel. I almost regretted getting inked tonight as I had to not only pat that dry, but also barely touch my bruised ribs on the other side as well. Jax smiled and kissed my own shoulder as I looked into the mirror at the red marks around my neck.

"I'm going to be honest, that's the first time a girl has done that. Don't be sorry. Just make sure to do it again sometime." Jax said with a laugh as he pulled away and dragged a towel through his hair. I smiled and felt accomplished as I went back to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of black, lace panties and cotton shorts before applying lotion to my fresh lotus flower.

"Where'd you go earlier?" Jax asked as he lay back down on the bed and lit a cigarette. I stopped rubbing the lotion in and looked over at him. His eyes were focused on me alone.

"Finished things from earlier." I said simply before borrowing his cigarette and taking a long drag. Jax narrowed his eyes a little, looking at the flowers on my side.

"So, those are your smiley faces aren't they? Hap uses smiles and you use lotus flowers?" Jax asked, taking the cigarette back from me. I sat on the bed beside him and nodded slowly. "You didn't have to do that. You could have brought it to me and the club would have done that. Gemma never should have sent you into that shit in the first place."

"Jax, it may have started as work, but as soon as he drew blood, it became personal. Thank you for offering, but this was my shit to finish. Happy only came along because my ribs were giving me a fit." I explained, letting Jax take my hand into his. He didn't say anything in response, but nodded and rubbed my hand with his thumb.

We ended the night in silence as I fell asleep on his chest while he was finishing his cigarette. A few hours later, I woke up to a pain shooting through my head. I tried to sit up, but felt my ribs protest loudly. Jax stirred and opened his eyes slowly as I grimaced in pain.

"Karma, babe, what's wrong?" Jax asked, looking concerned and sitting up slowly as not to jar me too much. I felt tears well in my eyes. Not only was I hurting like hell, but I was getting pissed at how pathetic my body was reacting.

"My head is fucking killing me and I can't really move above my waist." I hissed, cringing as I tried to sit up again.

"Karma, just stay still. I'll go get you some pain meds from Chibs." Jax said, picking me up slightly off his chest and laying me down gently before hurrying out of bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and walked out of the room quickly. I panted and cringed as another wave of pain hit me, happy that Jax wasn't there to see me deal with it rather pathetically.

Jax returned with a bottle of water and a pill bottle. I had managed to pull myself into a sitting position and took the water from him with a forced smile. He kissed me softly on the forehead as he popped open the pill bottle.

"Chibs sent oxy and weed. It's up to you which one you want. They're both going to pop on a drug screen so might as well do what makes you feel better." Jax said, shrugging his shoulders as he leaned the bottle towards me.

"Give me one pill and the joint. I hate pills." I said, wrinkling my nose as I took it from him. As I swallowed the medicine and a few gulps of water, Jax lit the joint and passed it over to me.

"I'm going out on a run today with Happy, Opie, Tig, and Clay. The prospect and Juice are staying here along with Chibs. If you need anything, just let them know. We should be back in a couple days." Jax said with a blank expression. I passed him the joint back and blew a line of smoke up towards the ceiling.

"Jax, I'll be fine. I'm just really sore and my head hurts. There's no point in worrying about me on a run. Y'all take care of whatever you need to and come back in one piece. I'll be up for more fucking then." I said with a small laugh as I felt the medicine and marijuana combining to ease the pain. Jax smiled and nodded before rising to get ready. I watched from the bed as he pulled on a t-shirt, his kutte, and then a black hoodie over that.

"Here, I doubt you want them checking on you while you're naked." Jax teased as he tossed me one of his Reaper t-shirts. I winked at him and tried my best to pull the shirt on. Jax laughed as I got frustrated with my arms not being able to move enough to pull it over my head.

"I could have done it." I said, sticking my tongue out as my head popped through the shirt with Jax's assistance. He kissed my lips briefly before heading out. I sighed and picked up my phone from the bedside table, shooting a quick text to Happy.

A few minutes later, a knock came on the door shortly before Happy stuck his head in, eyes closed.

"Are you naked?" Happy asked, not risking a peek. I laughed.

"Yes, Hap. I have a shirt and shorts on." I said, still laughing as he opened his eyes slowly with a smile. He walked closer to me and stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Heard you didn't feel that great. I told you we should have waited for the ink." Happy said with a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes. "What'd you want?"

"Just thought I'd tell you to be careful and to keep your head down. Whatever y'all are up to, you aren't showing kuttes, so that usually means trouble." I said seriously as Happy smiled over at me.

"I'm the big brother, Karma. I can take care of myself. Might even have time to look after your boyfriend while I'm at it." He said with a wink. I flipped him a bird and shook my head.

"He's your vp and your brother. You have to watch his back anyways. Just go, but be careful." I scoffed as he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. Happy made his way out of the room and closed the door behind him as I scooted back down in the bed.

I thought back to what Juice had said in the garage. He'd mentioned Happy being a little less rough around the edges now that I'm here, and that honestly didn't make me feel great. What the Sons do can be dangerous, more often than not, so I just had to hope that once he left the clubhouse, he was back to himself.


	16. Chapter 16

"I take it you're worried about Jax being on the road?" Lyla asked as she looked at me with her big doe eyes. I took another swig of vodka and shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess there's no use worrying about something that you aren't even sure is happening. I told him I don't share." I blurted out, immediately wondering why I was sharing.

"Well, he probably took that as none here or on the road. Besides, Happy is out there with him. You really think he'd let Jax hook up with someone, knowing you're here waiting for him?" Lyla said with a little laugh. I nodded slowly, figuring she probably had a point. Despite the fact that she was a porn star, I was actually starting to like Lyla.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" I asked quickly. Lyla's brow perked up as she smiled.

"I've got a shoot in the morning but then nothing, why?" She studied my face, still smiling.

"I'm tired of wearing the same clothes all the time and thought you might want to head out to that mall in Oakland." I blushed a little as I cursed the vodka for making me such a girl. Lyla hugged me again, luckily she remembered to be gentle.

"I'll pick you up around noon, okay?" She spoke at super speed as she clapped her hands together.

"Lyla, you act like you never go shopping with the Cara-cara girls." I said with a laugh, but her smile dropped off a little.

"I do sometimes, but you're the first person to actually seem like a friend instead of just a coworker. Thank you, Karma." She hugged me again, this time giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Nothing to thank me for. I'll see you tomorrow." I called after her while she opened the door. She threw a quick smile over her shoulder and was gone, leaving me to my vodka again. I looked at the bottle for a minute before finally deciding to at least head out to the bar so I wasn't drinking alone.

"Ay! I was jus' about to come check on ya." Chibs greeted me, patting the bar top in front of the empty stool next to him. I climbed up on the stool slowly and asked the croweater behind the bar for a water.

"How's it going?" I asked with a smile. The croweater sat a bottle of water and a glass with ice before me. I nodded a silent thanks to her as I poured the water into the glass.

"Can't complain. How's that head a yours?" Chibs asked with a quick glance over at me. I shrugged and wondered why he was avoiding eye contact. I may have only known the Scott for a short time, but he didn't seem the type to not look someone in the eye.

"Hard as ever. Something bothering you? You act like looking at me will turn you into stone." I asked as he ran a thumb around his empty tumbler. He didn't say anything for a couple minutes, so we just sat in silence as the croweater refilled his Jameson.

"Nothin'." Chibs finally said, breaking the silence with the single word before taking a big drink of his scotch. I narrowed my eyes at him. It was one thing for someone to tell me to bug off or mind my business, but lying pissed me off. Had I not been highly intoxicated, I may have remembered where I was and who I was talking to.

"Bullshit. If you don't want to talk about it then say so. Don't be a bitch and say nothing when it's so fucking obvious." I growled, grabbing my glass of water and heading over to a leather couch by the pool tables. I pulled out my phone and checked to see if Jax had called or texted me. Of course he hadn't. The only message I had was from Happy, telling me to get some sleep. I turned the phone screen off and held it in my hand as I brought my fist up to my forehead in concentration.

"Don't think tha's how ya use a smart phone." Chibs said with a little chuckle in his voice. I felt the couch sink in next to me as he sat down, but I kept my eyes closed, trying to calm down.

"Wha's on your mind, Karma?" Chibs voice was void of laughter that time. I sighed and opened my eyes, rolling my head around to look at him. This time, he didn't look away.

"Whiny bitch shit." I said flatly. My phone vibrated in my hand, causing me to smile as I flipped it over to check the message. My face fell as I read the short message from Happy, asking how I felt. "I'm an idiot."

"I doubt tha'. Ya don't have ta tell me what's wrong, but ya should probably talk to somebody." Chibs said with a sigh. I looked over at him again, meeting his eyes this time.

"Could we possibly change the subject? I just want to get my mind off it." I said tossing my phone on the coffee table in front of me. It meant a lot that Happy was checking on me, but I was pissed it was him.

"Uh, sure. Wha's it like being locked up with a bunch a bitches?" He asked with a teasing expression. I laughed and shook my head.

"I spent most my time in seg, so I wouldn't really know too much about it. Their segregation is two-person cells, so I was either alone or with just one other chick." I elaborated as Chibs looked at me with surprise.

"Seg, huh? What'd ya get thrown in there for?" He asked, obviously interested now.

"Damn there's a long story. First time was for fighting in the intake dorm. Bitch wanted to step up because she thought she had something to prove, I put her in her place. Stayed in seg for a couple weeks for that. Uh, next time I was pissed because I learned Happy got locked up with Clay and the others. This girl had kept taking my pictures and looking through them. I had enough that day so I broke her nose. Went to seg for two months for that. I stayed in gen pop for a while after finishing that up. It was full of jail-time lesbians and bitchy women. Everyone kind of steered clear of me since I had a bad rep by that point. I went to seg a couple more times over some weekends, but the one that landed me in seg for six months was pretty bad." I said pausing to take a drink of water as Chibs stared at me like I was a fucking television screen.

"Anyways, one day during chow a bitch stole this kid's tray. She couldn't have been a day over eighteen and weighed eight pounds wet. I was in a shit mood from getting sprayed with OC earlier and the kid reminded me of my little sister, so I flipped. I gave the girl my tray and took an empty one from the cart to beat the fuck out of the fat ass that stole hers. She ended up in the hospital for a broken orbital socket and lacerations. I ended up in seg for six months. Coulda been worse, but the guard on duty sided with me as far as why I did it." I said, thinking back to how Officer Morgan had backed me up, even after I gave him shit earlier that day.

"Wait, ya have a little sister?" Chibs asked, leaning forward and looking at me intently. I knew there was a reason I didn't like to talk when I was drunk. I bit my bottom lip and looked down at the worn leather of my boots.

"I did, yeah. Her name was Hope. She died in a car wreck first football game of her freshman year of high school. She would have been twenty-three now. I was supposed to pick her up that night. Instead I was fucking some guy in the back of a bar. It was nine years ago, but it still feels like last fucking night sometimes." I said quietly, shaking my head to try and jar the memory out of my head. "Don't breathe a word of that to anyone. We don't talk about it."

Chibs nodded silently, wrapping an unexpected arm around my shoulders. He squeezed my shoulder a little, causing me to grin wordless thanks.

"That's why ya do it huh?" He finally asked after finishing off his Jameson. I looked to him for some elaboration. "That's why ya're so protective."

"Yeah, I guess so. As horrible as it was, especially considering our dad had already died several years before, it brought Happy and I closer together, so I wouldn't change a thing. He's all I got left." I said with a smile, leaning forward to grab my phone and text Happy back. I was still pissed that Jax hadn't called or messaged me, but Happy did. Chibs got up to leave with a small smile as I sent my text out.

"Chibs?" He paused and looked back at me. I grinned sheepishly. "Thank you."

He nodded and headed out towards the garage as my phone vibrated with Happy's response. I laughed, seeing a single smiley face emoticon. Happy sucked at texting, but that was the one emoticon he ever gave a damn to learn. I put my phone back in my pocket and headed back to the dorms. I reached out for Jax's doorknob and found myself hesitating.

I took a breath and opened the door to the room we'd been sharing. Instead of crawling back in bed, I grabbed a set of sweat pants, a tank top and my bag before heading back in the hallway. I pulled a lock pick out of my bag and made quick work of Happy's door lock before letting myself in. The whole room smelled just like Happy's Diesel cologne and cigarettes. I smiled as I changed into the clothes I'd brought with me before climbing in his bed. I sent him one last text, letting him know I was in his room and demanding he be careful, before falling sound to sleep.

I woke up to Lyla calling my cell phone for the third time. With a stretch and a grimace, I answered it groggily.

"Yeah?" I said with a yawn. I heard Lyla laugh and an engine start in the background.

"I'm on my way to pick you up, chica. I figured you might need a wake up call." She said, still laughing. I groaned.

"You're too damn chipper in the mornings. I'm gonna take a shower and I'll see you in a few minutes then." I growled, dragging my ass out of bed.

"Last time I checked, noon isn't morning so stop bitching." Lyla said brightly before ending the call. I shrugged her valid point off and drug my feet across the hall to Jax's dorm. All my stuff was still in his bathroom, so I figured I might as well use it instead of Happy's manly smelling shit. I was still rubbing my eyes as I opened the door. As soon as the door was open, I was wide awake, frozen in place.

Jax was lying in the bed with the blonde croweater that had served Chibs and I yesterday. They were both sound asleep, butt ass naked. I considered abandoning my plans of a shower and just closing the door, but my temper got the best of me.

I walked into the bathroom as quietly as possible, grabbing my razor and other toiletries. Next, I crept over to my box of shit in the corner, placing the things from the bathroom down inside it quietly. Had it not been for my fucking ribs, I would have gotten out of the room without Jax being any the wiser, instead, I groaned involuntarily as I lifted the box up and Jax stirred. I tried to stay still, hoping he'd pass back out. Instead he woke right up.

"Karma? What are you? Fuck. I'm sorry I thought." He said, failing to complete a single sentence. I bit down on my bottom lip and shook my head slowly, eyeing his naked body with disgust. He reached out and grabbed my wrist gently.

"Don't fucking touch me." I yelled, dropping the box and yanking my wrist back. He grimaced as he looked at me.

"Karma. I fucked up, okay? Shit, babe." He reached out towards me again as the croweater woke and scrambled to cover herself with the sheets.

"No, you know what? I fucked up ever trusting your whoring ass. Don't touch me Jaxson. I swear. Let me get my stuff and leave." I said, shaking with anger as I reached down for the box again.

"What the fuck, Jax?" Happy's voice growled from the doorway. He stomped across the room in three long strides, grabbing my box from me and inclined his head towards the door. He was right on my heels as we went into his dorm. Happy flung the box down on the ground and threw the wooden office chair against the opposite wall.

"Hap, Stop." I said in an even tone. He turned and looked at me with eyes full of rage. I shook my head and grabbed the stuff I needed for a shower before walking into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I showered quickly as I heard Happy grumbling through the door. Once I was fully clothed and mascara done, I walked out of the tiny bathroom with a soaking wet ponytail.

"Karma, I had no idea that shit was going on." Happy said from his seated position on the end of the bed. I nodded and tossed my nightclothes into the laundry hamper.

"I though you weren't getting back until tomorrow?" I asked simply. Happy looked up and frowned.

"Yeah, it got cut short due to shit intel. I slept on the couch since you were in here. I heard you yelling." He said, getting pissed again. I nodded and rubbed the snake tattoo on his head.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going shopping with Lyla. I'll catch you later, Happy." I said, completely void of any emotion. As soon as I had gotten out of Jax's room, I'd shut it all down, resolving to feel nothing. Happy stood up and pulled me into his arms. I didn't move.

"I'm sorry, little girl. I love you." He said, my hair muffling his words as he kissed me on top of my head. I nodded as he dropped his arms.

"Love you to, Hap." I said with what I had intended to be a smile. It ended up feeling more like a mix between a grimace and a frown. He nodded and I headed out to the parking lot to wait for Lyla.


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey doll, you ready to go?" Lyla asked through her open window. I nodded and got in the car quickly. I could feel Lyla's eyes on me as she turned the Prius around.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said to cut off any ideas she had about asking what was wrong or anything of the sort. I looked over and watched her nod, pursing her lips in silence. I stared out of the window as she drove out towards the mall. I knew if I thought about it for just one minute, I would talk to her about it.

If I talked about it, then I'd have to deal with it and I wasn't in the mood. If I dealt with it before I calmed down, I'd probably end up in Central Cali again. So, instead, I was riding silently down the road in a Prius driven by the porn star wife of my cheating boyfriend's best friend to go shopping.

"So, what store do we go to first?" Lyla asked happily as she pulled into the mall parking lot. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up, despite not knowing what was wrong. For that, I bit back the sarcastic response of a gun store.

"I need a bra top and booty shorts." I said, looking over at her. Lyla's eyes widened as she swallowed down her surprise.

"Uh, okay then. We can go to Jasmine's for that, I guess. Is this part of what you aren't talking about?" I nodded and Lyla twisted her mouth a little, desperately trying not to pry.

We walked into the Oakland Central Mall and I immediately felt anxious. I never liked crowds to begin with, but being in a prison atmosphere where you have to constantly be on guard really drove that hatred home. I swallowed hard, thankful that Lyla was with me, dragging me by the hand towards a store decked in glittery black tiles and hot pink walls.

"Lyla! Hey! You got a new girl with you?" The blonde folding underwear asked as she saw us walk in. Lyla shook her head with an easy smile.

"Just a friend who needs a payback outfit." Lyla said nonchalantly. I opened my mouth and closed it without a word.

"Right on, what's your cup size?" The blonde asked, abandoning her folding task. I looked down and considered the question.

"I'm wearing a thirty-two C right now." I said, looking up from my chest with a questionable shrug. The girl nodded with a smile and headed off. I started to follow her, but Lyla stopped me.

"She's the best there is. Give her five minutes and you'll be done shopping." She said with a laugh. I raised my brow and nodded as I started looking around at the sexy bras and panties that Jax would certainly not be seeing me in.

"Got it!" The perky blonde said as she walked back up to us. The outfit, if that's what you could call it, that she pulled out from behind her back completely ended my train of thought. Lyla nodded as she looked from the clothes to me.

"I really don't know if I can pull this off, but I'll try it on so you stop nudging me, Lyla." I grabbed the top and shorts and walked behind the red curtain of a changing stall. I pulled on the cut off denim shorts with studs on the back pockets first, pleased with how they showed off my ass just enough. They were super low as well, riding dangerously close to my lowrise thong. I bit my lip and refused to look in the mirror after I put the top on, positioning my boobs around to where they looked best.

"Oh. My. Fuck." Lyla said with a whistle as I stepped out of the stall. Somehow, the blonde had found something that actually went with the studded, leather ankle boots I was wearing as well. I looked at myself in the full length mirror and smiled. The top was nothing more than a strapless bra with hundreds of studs around it.

"I'll take it." I said, poking my head out from the changing stall once I was done modeling for Lyla. The girl smiled and gave Lyla a quick high five before heading to the register. I handed over a hundred and demanded she keep the change. She nodded and wished me luck after giving Lyla a quick hug.

We shopped around a little more, before stopping by an adult store tucked away at the end of the sketchy strip mall next to the family appropriate megamall. The greasy guy at the counter checked our identification and stared at Lyla as I browsed their body jewelry. I finally decided on a new septum ring, a set of lip rings for the two piercings on either side of my bottom lip, and a bar for my naval.

"Anything else you have pierced I didn't know about?" Lyla asked with a teasing laugh. I turned to her and smiled broadly. She shook her head. "Never mind I asked."

"This going to be it?" The guy asked as he finished ringing up my purchases. I nodded along with Lyla. He looked at her for another minute before heading towards the rack of videos.

"Holy shit! I knew that was you! Please sign this copy! I'll give you that stuff for free." He said, motioning towards the bag on the counter. Lyla rolled her eyes and took the dvd from him. He handed her a permanent marker and watched closely as she signed her name with a big heart.

"You're awesome! Here. Thank you for stopping in!" Lyla and I stumbled out of the store laughing.

"You know he was hard that whole time!" I said, teasing Lyla. She scrunched up her nose and nodded with a laugh.

"Wow. At least being a celebrity gets you free shit!" She said, playfully flipping her hair over her shoulder. I laughed and nodded as we got back in the utterly, unsexy Prius.

"Jax cheated didn't he?" Lyla slipped the question out like she asked what flavor of ice cream I liked. I didn't answer. Instead, I flipped the visor mirror down and started coaxing the septum ring into my bull piercing. It hurt like hell from not having a ring in for over a year, but the hole was still open enough to get it through

As I worked on my right lip ring, I sighed. I shoved it through, hoping the pain would distract me from the conversation.

"Yeah. Walked in on him and the blonde croweater this morning after you called." I mumbled, sucking on my lip. I inspected it closely when I tasted blood. Luckily, it was only bleeding a little on the inside. My left lip ring went in without a problem.

"Seriously? You went through that shit and still went shopping with me?" Lyla asked, swerving a little as she looked over at me. I shrugged and nodded as I put the naval bar through my top and bottom naval holes.

"I needed a friend." I said honestly. She smiled and looked over at me as she stopped at a red light. "What?"

"You look a lot different like that. Not a bad thing. I just can't decide if you're scarier or hotter." She said with a confused twist to her mouth. I laughed and nodded.

"They can be the same thing sometimes." I explained as she nodded and pulled the car over on the shoulder of the road.

"Are you going to be okay? You know he'll be there, like all the time." She said with a concerned frown.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Happy's place should be ready soon and I'm a tough girl. Besides, I'll feel better Friday." I said with a dark smirk. Lyla raised her brow curiously.

"I'm the get even type." I explained. "Friday night I'll go to the party in that awesome outfit and we'll see who's crawling back to whom when it's all said and done."

"Karma, I'm all for being a badass bitch, but we can't afford for you to turn the guys against one another right now." Lyla looked at me apologetically. I nodded with a smile.

"Lyla, I know. Happy's been a Son for a long time, just trust me." I said with a grin. She sighed, unsure of my promise, but got back on the road all the same.

"What are you going to do between now and then?" Lyla asked, addressing the almost two days between now and Friday night.

"Drink and hang out with Happy or you when I'm not working." I said with a shrug. It probably wasn't the healthiest idea, but I figured my liver wasn't protesting after all these years so it could probably hold up a little longer.

Lyla pulled into Teller-Morrow's lot and parked the Prius. She gave me a brief grin before getting out and heading inside with me. I gritted my teeth violently as I saw the blonde croweater behind the bar again. Had my hands not been full of bags, I may have pulled my CZ on her.

"Hey Karma. Glad to see you stop looking like a freak." Happy said, pulling me under his arm with a grin. He hadn't seen me without piercings since I was eighteen and first started getting them. I noticed Tig staring at me from the other side of the pool table.

"Keep it in your pants, Tig. I'm not in the mood." I said as I gave Happy a quick hug before heading to his dorm to drop off my bags. Lyla stayed right by my side.

"Lyla, I promise you I'll be fine. Thank you though." I said, turning back to face her once I moved my CZ from my purse to the holster in the back of my jeans. She nodded and smiled brightly.

"I know. That's what worries me a little," she said with a laugh. "Seriously though, how are you feeling, from the fight?" She asked as she slid her arm through mine while we walked back into the bar and pool area of the clubhouse.

"I'm fine. Bruises are gone and the ribs don't hurt anymore. For a guy, he hit like a bitch." I said with a laugh, flaring up a dull pain in my side.

"I'll talk to you later. You have my number so call me if you need to talk or confess any murders." She teased, pecking me on the cheek before hurrying off to hug Opie. I walked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey before joining Happy over at the pool table.

"Can you just tell me what else has metal rings or rods through it?" Tig begged as he leaned on his pool cue. Lyla laughed from her seat on Opie's lap on the couch.

"She wouldn't even tell me, so good luck." She called out to Tig before going back to making out with her husband. Tig groaned as Happy shook his head with a hard expression.

"If I guess can you just nod yes or no. Wink once for yes twice for no?" Tig asked after sinking the 7 ball. I rolled my eyes and shrugged, much to Happy's distaste.

"Brother, you may want to close your ears and eyes." Tig said as he lined up his next shot. "Tongue?"

I nodded, sticking my tongue out to reveal the two vertical bars going through my tongue. His face lit up, realizing I was actually answering his questions. He sank the cue ball and frowned before shrugging and getting back to the questions.

"Nipples?" He asked, wagging his eyebrows. Happy shot him a look and shook his head as he lined up his pool shot. I shook my head. He shrugged and watched as Happy sank a combo shot.

Tig pointed his index finger down towards the ground. I laughed and blinked once. His eyes opened wide and Happy shot the eight ball off the table and across the room. I laughed and rolled my eyes as Happy motioned for a croweater to fetch the pool ball.

"Wait. Fuck. Shit. Which wink means yes and which is no? I was kidding about winking. I don't remember." He said, punching the felt tabletop. I couldn't help but laugh, hard.

I was grabbing my side in mild discomfort as I continued laughing at Tig as he blinked, thought about it and then put his head in his hands with a groan. Seconds later, I saw Jax walk in from the parking lot. I stifled my laughter and shook my head at the utterly perplexed Tig. Jax shoved the blonde croweater away as she sauntered up to him and made his way over to me.

"Hey." He said cautiously. I looked over at him and sighed.

"Hi." I spat back at him, licking the inside of my right and scrunching my nose at the faint taste of blood. Jax frowned and ran his hand through his hair.

"I need to talk to you." He said, reaching out for my hand. I moved it out of his reach and shook my head. His brow furrowed and he was obviously getting agitated.

"Karma, we need to talk." He said, taking a step towards me. Happy stepped in front of me and shook his head silently. Jax scowled and stormed off towards his dorm room, slamming the door loudly behind him. I put my foot on the back of Happy's knee and pushed forward, making him stumble a little.

"I don't need you defending me, bro." I said with a smile as he scowled back at me. I took a long swig of whiskey and joined in for a few games of pool before retreating to the original room I had stayed in before hooking up with Jax.

With a sigh, I crawled into bed alone, one hand on my CZ underneath my pillow. I stared at the wall for what must have been hours before falling asleep. I didn't dream, but I heard every creak and snore in the clubhouse in my light sleep. As soon as my alarm sounded, I turned it off and crawled out of bed.

I went through the motions of showering, getting dressed and fixing my hair somewhat detached from what was really going on. I flung my bag on my shoulder and made my way through the clubhouse silently. I paused at Jax's door, torturing my mind with questions of him being alone or not. Shaking my head, I hurried out of the clubhouse before I could talk myself into investigating.

I started the engine of the Barracuda and waited until it warmed up before backing out of what had come to be my normal parking space. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jax sitting up on the roof of the clubhouse, smoking a cigarette, and watching me leave with a frown. I almost let myself feel bad for ignoring him, but instead, I rolled down my windows, cranked the stereo up, and peeled out of the parking lot.


	18. Chapter 18

"Karma! Hey girl, I didn't know you were coming back! That asshole hasn't showed back up." Pepper said as she gave me a hug. She was dressed in tiny red panties and tassels over her nipples. I tried not to think about Happy's opinion about her reason for thanking me.

"Yeah, well, it's easier to sit around a porn studio than rebuild an engine I guess. I'm still healing." I said, landing somewhere between a lie and the truth. I was still healing, but sitting here was aggravating. Like Happy, I couldn't stand doing nothing all day.

"You going to be at the clubhouse tomorrow?" She asked as she finally pulled on a red silk robe. I nodded and silently thanked Lyla for walking up at that moment.

"Hey, Pepper, Luann needed you in the office." She said with a bright smile. Pepper nodded with a shrug and hurried off to the office, the sound of her heels clacking the whole way.

"I see you're fully clothed. What are you doing here dressed like that?" I asked Lyla while sitting back in an empty director's chair. She laughed and flipped me a bird.

"Luann's giving me a chance at behind the scenes stuff. I'm working on ideas for some new videos and outfits. I wanted to thank you for the other night." She said, taking a seat next to me. I raised my brow and tried to figure out exactly what she was thanking me for.

"I talked to Opie. We're going to keep the baby. I went home that night and couldn't imagine keeping it from him anymore. I'm really hoping it's a girl." She said with a rosy color rising to her cheeks.

"Well, as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Is that why you're staying behind the camera?" I assumed Opie wouldn't want his pregnant wife fucking other people, even if it was her job. She nodded and watched as Pepper and some big Latino guy got ready for their next scene.

The rest of the day went by quickly and calmly. Lyla and I talked about everything from her ex to why I ended up behind bars. She was the first person I ever came out and told without being interrogated. After the final shot of the day, I headed back up to Charming with Lyla behind me until she turned down the street to her and Opie's house.

I pulled into the lot and sat in my car for a few minutes. Luann had told me they weren't going to be in the studio tomorrow; something about a cleaning crew coming in. I had hoped to get ready there, but Lyla had talked me into coming over to her house a few hours before the party instead.

I walked into the clubhouse slowly, hoping to avoid drawing any attention to myself. Happy was underneath a croweater at the pool table, Jax was sitting at the bar, and several other sons were milling around drinking or watching tv on the couches.

I closed the door to the dorm room behind me and sighed, glad to have gotten in without talking to anyone. I crawled into bed without bothering to take anything but my shoes off. I was drained from talking and sharing stories all day. Sleep found me quickly, despite the loud banging on the wall between Happy and my room.

"Karma! Come in!" Lyla said brightly as she opened her front door. I smiled and walked in, taking in the unexpected sights around me. Something about Lyla being a porn star made me think her house would be decked out in shag carpet, leather and stripper poles. Instead, it reminded me more of the house Happy and I grew up in.

There were pictures of the kids hanging up on the wall by the door, warm blankets thrown on the couch and chairs, and the smell of cookies drafting through the air. Lyla raised her brow at me as I looked around the living room.

"We keep the stripper pole put up during the day." She said with a teasing smile. I laughed and shrugged sheepishly.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect you to be so domesticated." I told her honestly as she led me down the hall towards her and Opie's room.

"It's cool. I just like to leave the porn stuff to at work." She shrugged and took my bag from me, pulling things out and tossing it on the bed. I'd brought the new outfit I'd gotten, make-up and some different jewelry to decide between. Lyla tossed me my outfit and ordered me to get changed so she could be inspired.

I did as she asked and shed my jeans and t-shirt before pulling on the tiny shorts and bra top. Lyla smiled and nodded at me.

"I'm glad you went with that one, it screams you. I'd go with the stuff you got from my biggest fan to fill in all your holes." She said, laughing at the scowl I gave her as I started changing out the studs in my lip for the rings we'd gotten a few days ago. She moved behind me and shoved me into the bathroom suddenly.

"Babe? Why's Karma's car in the driveway?" I heard Opie ask seconds later. I stifled a laugh at how Lyla shoved me in the bathroom like a teenager getting caught with a boy in her bedroom.

"Yeah, she's getting ready for the party here. Why are you home?" Lyla asked sweetly, trying to throw him off the subject. He grunted, sounding just like my brother.

"I forgot my wallet. I'm heading back to the clubhouse. Try not to get in too much trouble tonight." He said with a laugh. A couple minutes later, Lyla opened the door and started laughing happily. It was infectious.

"I'm not letting you touch my hair until you stop laughing, woman." Lyla nodded and shoved me down into a chair by the sink. She pulled out hairspray and a couple combs before getting to work on transforming my ponytail into something more seductive. I watched as she braided the sides of my hair and teased the top before pulling it all back in a high tie. It looked like a sexy fauxhawk.

"If you ever stop doing porn, just start doing hair, woman." I said laughing as she finished and started on her own hair and make-up. She and I looked like quite a pair as we headed out to my barracuda. With her in a tank top and tight jeans, I started feeling like more of the porn star for tonight.

"Okay, so do you have a plan?" Lyla asked as we pulled into the clubhouse parking lot. The lot was already full of bikes and cars, but no one had made the mistake of parking in my spot. I cut the engine and looked over at her.

"Ignore him and party." I said with a shrug as we opened the doors. Lyla wrapped her arm through mine and we headed into the clubhouse. Opie and Happy were playing pool and drinking beers when we walked up. Happy had his back to us, but Opie's eyes widened as we got closer. He nodded towards me and Happy turned around.

"Jesus Christ, Karma. Why not just wear underwear?" He said with a laugh as he handed me a beer. I laughed and shrugged as the four of us joked around and drank. It was about fifteen minutes after our arrival that I saw Jax. He was walking through the door, looking around for someone.

"Fucking bitch." I muttered as the blonde croweater walked up to him and ran her hand down his arm. Lyla gave me a little push forward and Jax's eyes landed on me.

"Sorry, your plan sucked." Lyla squeaked as I whipped around to face her. She hid behind Opie and smiled around at me. I flipped her off and headed to meet Jax halfway. The blonde croweater caught sight of me and hightailed it outside.

"Who are you wearing that for?" Jax asked as he let his eyes wander over my body. I felt tingles run down my spine.

"Anybody but you." I said with a shrug. He shook his head and watched me as I walked past him and out of the door.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." A familiar voice came from the crowd. I looked around and found Kozik standing next to Tig at the fire pit. I smiled and walked over to him, hugging him tightly around the neck. He squeezed me tight before pushing me back and looking me up and down.

"Damn, you didn't dress like this in Tacoma, Karma. I might need to see about a transfer." The blonde biker said with a wink. I'd always teased him about looking more like a surfer than a biker when I lived in Washington.

"Yeah, maybe you should." I said, giving him a wink back. He laughed and shook his head. Our flirting was completely for entertainment purposes. He and Happy were the closest thing to best friends Happy would ever have. We'd known each other for years and never tried anything beyond making out at a party once.

"What brings you down, Koz?" I asked as I took his cigarette from his lips and took a long drag. He shook his head and elbowed Tig.

"See, I told you she liked me more than you. I'm just passing through, Karma. Took a trip down to Nevada and I'm just headed home." Kozik said after making his dig at Tig. I nodded and passed his cigarette back.

"Think Jax is getting ready to kick your ass, blondie." Tig said with a laugh as I turned and saw Jax storming over to the bench we were sitting on. I rolled my eyes and gave Kozik a kiss on the cheek before rising to my feet.

"If you're going to push up on my brothers, you at least need to talk to me first." Jax growled at me as he pulled me away from the bench. I yanked my elbow out of his grip and stopped next to the line of bikes.

"Jax, I'm pissed. I told you I didn't share and then I walk in on you and that blonde bimbo. Why'd you do it? Don't say you don't know." I growled with a glare at his bright blue eyes.

"I was pissed that you bitched at me about taking care of you. It didn't help that Gemma told me about your trip to Lodi." He said, narrowing his eyes at me. My eyes opened wider as I swallowed back some panic. Tough or not, I couldn't stand up to SAMCRO if they found out I meddled in their shit.

"I wanted to help." I finally said. Jax's face relaxed as he shook his head. For the first time in days, I didn't pull away when he touched me.

"I didn't tell Clay. There's no point in it. I get that I hurt you, but I still want you. Maybe we should just slow down?" He offered in a deep voice. I shook my head.

"No, we should stop lying and fucking whores. You get this second chance and that's it Jax. The next time it happens, I'm gone. I won't even be in Charming anymore. I'll just head back up to Tacoma." I said as he nodded. The pent up frustration and the way he looked at me had me shoving him up down to his bike and kissing him hard.

Jax pulled me down onto his lap and gripped my ass as his mouth travelled down to my neck. I dropped my head back, opening my neck to him further. He scraped his teeth over the pulsing vein in my neck as my fingers tangled into his hair. I was still pissed, somewhere deep down, but Jax's hands and mouth distracted me completely.

It wasn't until I heard whistling and cat calls that I remembered we were sitting on his bike mere feet from a raging, Friday party. I pulled back and he sighed, smiling at me like he would have been fine with an audience.


	19. Chapter 19

"Where are you going?" Jax asked as I pulled my shorts back on. I looked over at the bed and shook my head.

"Jax, just because we had sex and talked a little doesn't mean we're back together. I was stupid for jumping into something after just meeting you. I don't know what's going on with you, but something is obviously gotten you reaching out for any kind of connection. I can't be that for you. We can have some fun but until you get your shit together and we get to know each other, I'm not staying over. Consider this your chance to win me back" I said as I sat down and put my boots on. Jax sighed and leaned back on the headboard as he lit a cigarette.

"You're probably right. So what does this mean for your whole no sharing rule?" Jax asked, blowing a trail of smoke up towards the ceiling. I paused before opening the door and turned back to look at him.

"You're not mine to share but I can promise you that if you fuck around with other gashes, I won't touch you." With that being out in the open, I exited the room and headed back to the party that was still raging on.

"Karma! Thought you and Jax were calling it a night." Kozik said as I joined he and Tig at the pool table. I elbowed him hard in the ribs and took his pool cue from him. Tig laughed and shook his head as Kozik grumbled.

"You seriously left him with this many shots, Tig? Here I thought you could actually play pool." I said as I sank two balls in the right, middle pocket. Tig stopped laughing and huffed as I moved around to line up my next shot.

"You ask me, I don't think it's fair for you to play wearing that." Tig said in hopes of throwing my next shot off.

"Nice try. If you thought with your head instead of you dick I wouldn't have just beat you." I said with a laugh as I sank the last two balls. Kozik gave me a high five and flipped Tig a bird as he took the pool cue back.

"Uh, Karma?" I turned around and saw Pepper looking at me frantically. Kozik and Tig listened as I tried to calm her down.

"What? Breathe, okay? What's wrong?" I asked taking her small shoulders in my hands. She took a long, deep breath and bit her bottom lip.

"Candy and Lyla are about to fight and Opie told me to come get you." She said quickly. I dropped my hands from her and took off, shoving through the crowded clubhouse to the parking lot she was pointing towards. Tig and Kozik were right on my heels.

"You want to take sides with her? You aren't anything but a fucking hooker, you just get paid to do it in front of a camera." The blonde Jax had slept with yelled at Lyla as I ran up behind Opie. She laughed and pointed towards me.

"Look, there's your little butch friend trying to look like a hooker like you." Candy had one hand on her hip and a bottle of beer in the other. I walked towards Lyla and grabbed her elbow, holding her until Opie could get ahold of her and drag her away.

I gave Candy one look and turned away, refusing to fuel her desperate attempts at getting more attention. I was almost back to the crowd when a beer bottle went flying past my arm, smashing on the ground right in front of me. When I turned around, Happy was already pulling her out towards her car.

"You don't fucking touch me." She screamed as she hit him as hard as she could on the chin. I lunged forward, narrowly escaping Kozik's attempt to catch my arm and hold me back.

"You wanted my attention? Well, bitch here I am." I said as I grabbed her by the hair and swung her to the ground. She crawled back up to her feet with a laugh. For a croweater, she had some fight in her, although it seemed more like she couldn't hold her alcohol.

"Oh, poor you. You can't handle Jax so you try to fight me instead?" Candy spat as she brushed the scrape on her knee.

"You're the one trying to fight Lyla and throwing a bottle at me. You could have gotten away with that shit tonight, but then you fucked up and hit my brother." I gave her the gift of explaining why I was going to hurt her before hitting her hard in the side.

Candy swung wide at her failed attempt of hitting me back, opening her face to my fists easily. I hit her once in the jaw, knocking her to the ground. I probably could have knocked her out with the one hit, but she pissed me off and I wanted her to learn a lesson.

"Don't. Ever. Hit. Happy. Again. Bitch." With each word, I landed another strike somewhere on her face, ensuring to alternate fists. After I felt the message was clear, I climbed off her and headed to Happy who was now standing with Kozik, Tig and Pepper.

"You realize I barely felt that shit." Happy said with a laugh as a prospect sent another croweater to take her home or to the hospital. I nodded and shrugged.

"It's the principle of the matter." I managed to get out before Pepper threw her arms around me and slammed her mouth onto mine. I stood frozen as she tried to convince me to move my lips against hers.

"Pepper! She's not into girls!" Lyla scolded her costar as she smacked the back of the girl's arm. Pepper pulled back and bit her bottom lip again, looking from the small crowd that had seen it go down and then back to me.

"I'm sorry, Karma. I mean I should have known, but when you fight it really turns me on." Pepper said with a blush before hurrying away with Lyla. As soon as she was out of ear shot, Kozik snorted and Tig busted out laughing.

"That really just happened didn't it?" I asked, recovering from the shock of the last minute or so. Happy smirked and nodded as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"You've got a way with the ladies, little sister. May want to give Kozik and Tig some tips." He said with a laugh as a croweater handed he and I beers. I shook my head and sighed.

"I'm finishing this beer and going to bed before anyone else decides they want to fuck me in the parking lot. A girl can only take so much action in one day." I said with a laugh. Kozik and Tig kept teasing about Pepper throughout my beer. I was laughing at Kozik asking if she tasted like pepper or Dr. Pepper when I noticed blue lights flashing at the gate.

"Son of a bitch." I muttered as the squad car tried to pull into the lot. I had a feeling I was about to get hauled in for breaking that dumb bitch's face. I looked at Kozik as I handed Tig my beer.

"Hit me a couple times." I said, hoping he'd hurry up about it before the cops saw anything. Kozik's jaw dropped and shook his head.

"What? I'm not fucking hitting you." He said in disbelief. I groaned and shook my head.

"I've gotta say it was in self defense and then maybe I won't go back to Central. Problem is I don't look like I needed to defend myself." I explained rapidly as the crowd near the gate started parting slowly. Kozik shook his head, adamant about not hitting me.

"Damnit, Karma. I'm sorry." Happy said as he handed his rings to Kozik. I nodded and tried not to make any noise as his fist connected with my cheek. I knew he wasn't hitting me as hard as he could, but fuck if it still didn't hurt. He busted my lip and punched my eye before pulling me into his arms.

"Karma, I'm sorry. I didn't want to." He said, squeezing me tightly as I struggled to scratch my neck with my nails. I looked up at him and frowned. He looked like he was going to be sick.

"Happy, either you did it or I went back in. I'll be fine. You hit like a girl." I said with a quick smile as he slid his rings back on and I held the beer bottle up to my smarting lip.

"Karma Lowman?" Sheriff Unser asked as he walked up to me with narrowed eyes. I pulled the bottle away and gave him a small wave as his eyes widened in shock.

"Mind telling me what happened to send that girl to the hospital?" Unser asked, holding a set of cuffs in his hands.

"It was self defense. She was screaming at my friend and I tried to break it up. She threw a beer bottle at me and then busted my lip. I can't help it that I won and she can't block." I said, making sure to stick my lip out a little more as he looked me over. He shook his head and walked closer towards me.

"She's saying you attacked her. Considering one of you has a violent record, I'll have to take you in until I can get to the bottom of this." Unser said, reaching out for my arm with his cuffs. I shook my head and swallowed hard.

"Look, you can take me in but don't cuff me. I've got bad memories, okay?" I said, backing up towards Happy as he approached me. Most people were afraid of spiders or heights, but ever since getting cuffed and stuffed in a trunk in Tacoma, I hated the damn things. Happy moved in front of me a little and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You got a good thing going with the Sons. My sister says she'll come with you. You don't have to cuff her." Happy said seriously as Unser sighed. He nodded and put the cuffs back in their evil little, leather holder before holding a hand out for me. Happy gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head before letting me walk to the squad car with the sheriff.


	20. Chapter 20

"You realize this is ridiculous right?" I asked as Unser opened the back door so I could get out. He shook his head and looked away.

"I look the other way more than I should where your brother's club is involved. This type of thing, I can't ignore." Unser said as he led me into the station. I was seated in their only interrogation room and forced to wait for over an hour.

Unser walked in with two cups of coffee and a forced smile. He offered me a coffee, to which I refused. He frowned a little and sat it down in front of me anyways.

"So, what happened? I've already heard her side, now what's yours?" Unser said as he looked me in the eye. I sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"I told you at the clubhouse. She tried starting a fight with Lyla. Then she threw a beer bottle and I tried to ignore her but she came at me and busted my lip." I said flatly.

"You don't think what you did was a little over the top?" Unser said with a disbelieving laugh. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward.

"I think I defended myself and she got hurt. She pressing charges?" I growled. Unser's eyes widened as he sat up a little straighter.

"She hasn't mentioned pressing charges yet. A nurse called in and reported it." He said with a sigh. I nodded and stood up.

"Okay, then I'm going home. Next time you decide to question me, make sure you have something to stick me with first. I may be new in Charming but I'm family. Last time I checked you were on my family's good side. I'd hate for that to change." I smiled and gestured towards the door.

Unser stood up slowly and opened the door for me. I let him lead the way back towards the front of the station as I shot Happy a message. When I looked up, I realized the message had been pointless.

"Let's go." I said simply as Happy pulled me in for a hug. He nodded and turned to leave when Gemma grabbed my arm. I turned to look at her and raised my brow.

"You alright sweetheart?" The way Gemma looked at me made it feel as though she could see right through me. I shrugged and she dropped her hand from my arm.

"One more hit Wayne. One more hit to my family and I'll stop being so forgiving." Gemma hissed as she adjusted her big leather bag on her shoulder. Unser tried to respond, but Gemma was already stomping through the door. Happy shot one lest glare back at Unser before opening the door and following me outside.

"I brought your stuff. House is done." He grumbled as he got in the driver's seat of my car. I nodded and got in beside him silently. I felt his eyes on me every few seconds of the ten minute drive.

Happy knew I hated being pulled in for questioning. A few months before my ex came around, I'd been pulled in by Tacoma's district attorney. She'd done her best to turn me on the club, even going as far as offering a deal for Happy.

When they turned me loose, Happy was out on a run for the club. As soon as I started walking to a bus station, a black bag was thrown over my head, cuffs slapped on my wrists and I was thrown in the back of a sedan. I was in the damn trunk for over an hour.

The car finally stopped and my abductors drug me out of the trunk and into a warehouse. I was pissed and counting on the club to notice me missing, until the bag was taken off my head. I sitting on the floor, looking up at the VP of the Tacoma chapter of The Sons of Anarchy. At that point, I was terrified.

He questioned me for hours about being a rat and threatening me. The worst part about the whole situation was thinking that Happy knew about it. The whole time he yelled and threatened me, I was worried Happy thought I had betrayed him.

I stopped talking eventually. Vance was pissed and kept a prospect on me for a couple days. I had food and water, but I refused everything, determined to starve myself if they wouldn't let me talk to my brother.

Eventually, Happy showed up. He was throwing shit and had a gun at the prospect's head when Vance came in. They fought about Vance thinking I was a rat and Happy knowing I wasn't.

It'd taken a while to convince Happy not to leave Tacoma. He'd been ready to go nomad as soon as he found me. I refused to let him leave because of me. In a way, I blamed myself for getting picked up.

"What are you thinkin about?" Happy asked as he parked the car. I shook my head to clear my mind and looked up at the house. I smiled when I saw the bright red door against the grey of the house. The house we grew up in had the same color door.

"I'm just tired." I lied. Happy grunted, knowing full well that I wasn't going to open up. He tossed me my car keys and headed inside, leaving me to deal with my shit he'd thrown in the trunk.

"Down the hall on the left." Happy growled as he motioned in the general direction from the couch. I rolled my eyes and headed that way. It was a balancing act to get the door open without putting my box down, but once I finally did, I dropped it anyways.

"Happy get your ass in here." I yelled from the doorway. I heard him sigh and walk heavy-footed down the hall.

"What?" He asked, leaning up against the doorframe. I narrowed my eyes and pointed inside the bedroom.

"Don't fucking what me. What the fuck is that?" I asked, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look in the room. He shrugged and a smirk started forming on his lips.

"Looks like a puppy." He said with a laugh. There was in fact, a furry, black puppy lying asleep on the bed. I looked in at in and smiled before glaring back at Happy.

"No shit, Sherlock. Why is there a puppy on my bed? I don't feel like playing twenty questions, Hap. Spill it." I said with a sigh. He laughed and pushed past me. He picked up the puppy and held it in his arms.

"I got you a puppy cause I knew you wanted one up in Tacoma. You never got to get one before you went in so I got you a welcome home puppy. Picked him up when you went over to Opie's. Glad he's trained. Wasn't planning on Unser delaying us coming here." He said with a smile as the puppy stirred and looked over at me excitedly.

"Thank you, Happy. I love him." I said with a smile as the puppy licked me and panted.

"Couldn't deal with a little one so you get him. He's like five months. You can finish training him. He stays by your side if you leave this house." Happy said, suddenly serious. I nodded and scratched the puppy behind the ears.

"What's his name?" I asked. Happy sat him down and brushed his shirt off. I laughed at how large the puppy's ears were compared to his body. As a german shepherd, I knew he'd grow in to them, but it was still funny.

"Glock. I'm going to sleep. You two keep it down." He said as he gave me a quick, one armed hug and headed out of the room. I knelt down and grabbed the tag hanging off the dog's spiked collar. On one side was a smiley face with Happy's address on the reverse. I laughed and shook my head.

"I guess you're my new side kick, huh?" I asked, feeling much lighter than I had when Unser drug me down to the station. Glock cocked his head at my words before barking and standing up, tail wagging happily.

Glock and I played fetch for an hour or so in the front yard before finally calling it a night. I thought about making him sleep in his dog bed, but decided I hated sleeping alone so he probably did to. So instead, Glock slept next to me with his head on the other pillow the whole night.

"Morning." Happy said as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I nodded silently as I let Glock out in the backyard before pouring myself a cup of coffee.

"I thought you'd be at the clubhouse already." I mumbled before burning my tongue on the hot liquid. I hissed and sat it back on the counter, making Happy laugh.

"Bike's at TM. Didn't think you wanted me to take your car. I need to go soon though, Clay's holding church at noon." Happy explained as Glock trotted back in the kitchen. He sat down quietly and looked back and forth between Happy and I.

"Fine. I'm going to take a shower. I smell like kibble." I gestured at Glock for explanation and headed off to get ready. Happy laughed and tossed a ball outside, causing Glock to almost run me over chasing it. I flipped Happy off as I recovered with a laugh.

**Hello again! Thank you all for the reviews and favorites and follows, you rock. This chapter wasn't quite as action packed as the last one, but it's really important to the story. :) Hope you all enjoy and keep the info from this chapter in the back of your mind as we go forward!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Could you drive a little fucking faster?" Happy asked as he tried to push Glock's head away from his shoulder. He was determined to get his nose out of the window, and found Happy to be an entertaining obstacle. I laughed and sped up about two miles per hour. Happy cut his eyes at me until Glock stuck his nose on Happy's ear, causing him to jump and cuss.

"I guess you'll ride in the back next time." I said with a laugh as Glock cocked his head back and forth as Happy lectured him.

"Thank God." Happy grumbled when I parked the car at TM. I laughed as I watched him rush to get out of the car. Glock whined and looked after him sadly.

"Let's go, Glock." I snapped his leash on him and pushed the seat forward so he could get out easily. He almost ripped my arm off as he tried to sniff everything on the lot.

"Awww, puppy!" Tig said as he rushed out of the garage and bent down to play with Glock. Glock backed up quickly and stood in front of me, ears back. I laughed and petted him reassuringly. After looking up at me, he attacked Tig with sloppy, dripping kisses.

"He'll never get any work done now." Gemma sighed as she walked over to me and lit a cigarette. He eyes widened as she looked at Glock.

"Happy surprised me with him. Apparently I needed a guard dog. He's adorable though." I said with a bright smile. Gemma raised her brow and nodded slowly.

"Right, those huge teeth are just begging to cuddle with someone's throat. Jax was looking for you earlier." She said before taking a long drag from her cigarette, tossing it aside, and going back into the office.

"You want to follow us or go get work done?" I asked Tig with a laugh as he taught Glock how to shake. He pouted his lip out at me and stood up.

"This little guy has to visit more often." Tig demanded before hesitantly heading back to the garage. I shook my head and grabbed Glock's leash, though he was more than happy to follow me into the clubhouse.

"Hey, Karma. You got a minute?" Jax asked once I got within earshot. I nodded and followed him back to his dorm. I left Glock with Happy at the bar, figuring I was perfectly safe in the clubhouse.

"What happened last night? Happy was ticked and mumbling something about hitting you. Is that what this is from?" Jax asked, tracing his thumb over my lip softly. I pulled his hand away and held it between us.

"You're bed buddy tried to fight Lyla and then she hit Happy. I was pissed so I beat the shit out of her. Unser showed up and dragged me in for questioning. I had Happy hit me so I could say it was self defense, fucking Tig or Kozik wouldn't do it." I grumbled as I remembered I wanted to rag on them for it.

"Fuck, Karma. I know that's on me. I never should have gone there. I should have just talked to you when you pissed me off." He said, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"There's no use crying over spilled milk. We can just try to get past it." I whispered, pulling him in and kissing him softly. He deepened the kiss and rested a hand on my ass. I shook my head a little and pulled back.

"The more we fuck, the less I can be mad at you. We need to get back to the crowd before I let you make me forget." I said, longing to run my hands all over him. He nodded slowly and kissed me one last time before heading to the door. I bit my lip extra hard and followed him out.

As soon as we rounded the corner, Glock bounded up to me with a ball in his mouth. I laughed and took it from him. He jumped around anxiously as I tried to decide where to throw it. I turned back towards the hall and threw it all the way down to the other end. Glock shot off after it.

"Glad you like him. Happy told me he was getting you a German Shepherd." Jax said with a smile as Glock brought him the slobber covered ball to throw down the hall again.

"He's loyal." I said, making a little dig at Jax. He scowled at me a little before throwing the ball. I winked at him and headed over to Kozik who was sitting at the bar with Happy.

"Hey there, useless." I said, hitting him in the shoulder. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Just because I wouldn't hit you? Doesn't that make me a good guy?" He asked with a raised brow. Happy scowled over at him.

"You saying I'm a bad guy?" He growled before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Kozik shook his head adamantly as I laughed.

"Please, Koz. I could kick your ass in the ring. You wouldn't have hurt me that bad." I said with a smirk. Kozik didn't have a chance to respond before the doors to the clubhouse flew open.

I tensed as soon as I saw the girl standing in the doorway. I recognized her immediately and hopped off the barstool, hurrying to get her out of the clubhouse.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I whispered as I drug her out by her elbow. She had a fresh black eye and her clothes weren't close to fresh. She took a couple of steps backwards and bit down hard on her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go. Those guys came back a few days ago. I barely got away." She sobbed, causing her chest to heave quickly.

Gemma must have caught sight of us, because within seconds, she was standing by my side. I groaned and pulled at my hair as I tried to think quickly. My first goal was getting her out of TM.

"Gemma, take her to my car. We need to go somewhere else, now." I said. Gemma grabbed the girl's elbow and pulled her over to the Barracuda as I ducked inside the clubhouse and called for Glock.

"Karma. What's going on?" Happy asked as he followed my dog outside. I groaned and shook my head as I dug my keys out of my pocket.

"I've got it under control, Happy. I'll call you later when I figure it out." I said before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and jogging over to the car. I opened the door and let Glock jump in before quickly starting the car and high tailing it out of the lot.

"Gemma, put the damn gun away." I hissed as I drove out of town. I had no idea where I was headed, but I knew it was away from Charming and Lodi. I glanced at the rearview mirror and watched as Glock sniffed the terrified girl sitting next to him.

"Damnit, Haley. What the fuck were you thinking? I don't know where you got the idea I'm your friend." I sighed and sped up once I broke free of Charming city limits. The sooner I got her out of town, the better.


	22. Chapter 22

I pulled into a crummy looking hotel just off the interstate. Haley had fallen asleep over and an hour ago and I'd shut down all attempts Gemma made at conversation. I stopped in front of the office and paid for a room for the night. I didn't know what would happen to the kid after that, but I had to take it one step at a time.

"Get up." I growled and shook Haley by the shoulder. She rubbed her eyes and groaned as she got out of the car behind Glock.

"I'm allergic to dogs." She said, scrunching her nose at Glock. I shoved her towards the hotel room, ignoring her health concerns. Gemma closed the door after walking in behind us.

"You realize if Clay finds out about this we're all dead. What possessed you to come to us?" Gemma turned from me to Haley and crossed her arms over her chest. The girl started crying instead of talking. I threw my hands up and shook my head as I sat down on the bed.

Haley kept crying for over fifteen minutes as Gemma and I debated on what to tell Clay when he called. We settled on telling him she was a friend from Central. Luckily, the only sons that knew the truth were Jax and Happy. Once one crisis was dealt with, I moved on to the loud, sobbing one in the room.

"Stop crying. The only thing it's doing is pissing me off and making you breath more around a dog you're allergic to." I snapped as her chest continued to heave. It took a few seconds, but she finally slowed her breathing and stopped crying.

"Can you put him in the car or something?" Haley asked, eyeing Glock as he slept on the foot of the bed. I shook my head no. She was disappointed, but filled Gemma and I in on why she'd come to Charming.

"So, you get roughed up by the Mayans and you decide to go to the Sons? You realize if it wasn't for me, you might have gotten hurt worse sooner, right?" Haley looked at me and shook her head. I groaned and looked at Gemma.

"So, what do we do now? She goes back home and the Mayans will get her again. Our guys think she's my friend so they'll." I stopped midsentence and turned back to Haley. She was looking at me with a strange expression. I could tell she was scared, but I realized it wasn't of Mayans.

"You fucking bitch." I pulled my gun on her and aimed it straight at her chest. Gemma jumped back a little, waking Glock up with a start. He picked up on the hostility and started growling at Haley.

"Karma! What are you doing?" Gemma asked, looking between Haley and I. I shook my head but kept my eyes trained on Haley.

"Think about it, Gemma. She came there to get help. They fucking knew old ladies don't handle club shit. They sent her so when they roughed her up again, the club would think she was a friend and retaliate against the Mayans. So long cease fire." I growled. Gemma hissed through her teeth.

"Shit. We can't send her away and we can't bring her back." Gemma slapped the now smiling Haley across the face. I jogged my foot up and down, trying my best to find a way out of this shit.

"I wish I could fucking shoot you." I growled at Haley as I put my gun down. Gemma raised her brow at me with surprise.

"Only way to fix this is an accident." Gemma caught on to my train of thought. I snarled my lip at Haley and nodded.

"I suck at arson and don't feel like going back in for it. Only way I can think to avoid charges is if it's not my fault. Fuck." I groaned and turned the table over in aggravation. Glock barked loudly.

"You're seriously going to kill me?" Haley asked, frightened that I appeared to have a plan. I narrowed my eyes at her and laughed.

"No, I'm taking you on vacation. Yes, I'm fucking killing you. I wish I could do it twice for what it's going to cost me." I turned and looked at Gemma as I grabbed my car keys. She went to grab her bag, but I shook my head.

"What are you doing, Karma?" Gemma stepped in front of me as I went towards the door. I snapped my fingers and pointed at Glock. He whined but sat down.

"I'm handling shit. Stay here with him. I'll call you in a little bit, hopefully. Call Jax from the hotel phone and tell him to keep Happy calm when the hospital calls him." Gemma shook her head in protest, but I was already shoving Haley out of the door and towards the car.

"Get in the driver's seat." I growled as I opened the door. I kept the keys in hand as I hurried to the passenger side. Haley wasn't smart enough to use that time to make a run for it. I started the car and pulled my gun out.

"Do you know how to drive a stick?" I asked after buckling in. She nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Chill out, I'm not killing you. Head back towards Charming. Careful with first gear, it's short." I said with a sad smile. Haley nodded and let out a sigh of relief. We were headed back towards town for about thirty minutes when I reached over and pressed down on her leg controlling the gas pedal.

"What are you doing?" She looked over at me in sheer panic. I rolled my eyes and ignored her question as the car sped up. Once we reached just under 100mph, I took my hand off her leg and undid her seatbelt. I kissed my gun and threw it out of the window.

She was already screaming when I grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it hard to the right. I hadn't planned on her hitting the brakes. My car turned perpendicular to the road and rolled over quickly. The screaming stopped and I knew I'd done my part to save the club.

Gemma sat down with him at the hospital while Karma was in surgery. She told him how Karma had known that the only way to protect the Sons from the Mayans, or him from Clay was to stage an accident. Tears fell from Gemma's eyes as she told him she'd planned on calling her afterwards.

Happy Lowman threw a handful of dirt into the grave and walked away with Glock by his side. The only family he had now was the one he'd chosen.


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you all for joining me on the journey with Karma. I know the ending may not be what you expected or wanted, but it felt right to me in the end. Karma's only love was her brother and she knew the best way to protect him was to eliminate the risk. It was never her plan to go out that way, but it's a risk she was willing to take for her family.**


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